Some Octopus Energy customers complained they were only informed about the changes two weeks ago
Energy giant Octopus increased prices and gave customers less than 2 weeks’ notice(Image: Getty)
Certain Octopus Energy customers face higher electricity bills from Friday, with many voicing frustration after receiving just a fortnight’s notice. Households subscribed to the Intelligent Octopus Go and Octopus Go smart energy tariffs will see increased charges from 1 May. These tariffs provide discounted overnight electricity, enabling customers with electric vehicles to charge them more economically.
MoneySavingExpert revealed that subscribers were informed of the amendments, which include standing charges rising by an average of 52p monthly, on 20 April.
Octopus Energy informed them that the rise in the off-peak unit rate was “due to ongoing volatility”, referencing the turmoil stemming from the Iran conflict.
The firm’s chief executive, Greg Jackson, said on X: “Whilst rises are painful and we work very hard to avoid them (you can look back and see very few over the years on these tariffs) – these tariffs are still very cheap – typical users on this tariff will have a blended rate of around 18.3p/kWh – around 20% below the price cap, and the more they charge their car the bigger the saving.”
Disgruntled customers turned to X to express their concerns. One wrote: “@OctopusEnergy so “due to global volatility” my prices are going up which I understand……what I don’t is why does my daily standing charge also increase #moneymakingscheme”. Sarah said: “I’ve been following the news quite closely since the start of this war in Iran and it’s a war where strangling energy supplies is the key.”
One concerned customer explained: “I’ve stopped watching now as it was making me worry too much BUT for Octopus to increase the cost from 1st May it’s an indication to fix 100%! The 1st July and the one on bang on about the 1st October are the worries. BUT you can fix and it’s only slightly more than the fixed i originally went for 1st October last year. Yes, the government reduction where they removed some of the costs has been eaten up, but thank goodness they did that.”
Andrew remarked: “So the government is supposed to reduce energy rates by £150… @OctopusEnergy reduced their electric rate in April and then put it back up from 1st May, so no saving at all… absolute con and now they blame the Iran crisis for the increase.”
Ken queried: “@MartinSLewis, Octopus putting up their Octopus Go rates from 1st May, even though they brought them down just weeks ago for the drop in the price cap? Doesn’t sound right.” Martin responded: “Doesn’t sound great, but just to be technical. Octopus Go is not a price-capped tariff, so it didn’t move due to a drop in Price Cap. It dropped due to the removal of some govt policy costs from energy bills (which is the same reason the cap moved but still they’re separate).
“As it’s not price-capped and it is a variable tariff, it is allowed to move the price as long as adequate notice is given. I’m afraid the only option is to ditch and switch elsewhere :(“
Octopus responded: “It’s not a con – the global volatility in gas markets directly impacts the UK electricity market, which dictates prices for all suppliers regardless of the tariff. Despite market challenges, from 1st May, Intelligent Octopus Go will be Britain’s cheapest standalone EV charging rate. Drop us a DM if you’d like to chat through your options.”
The firm explained: “To help keep this unit rate increase as low as possible, we’ve moved more of Ofgem’s grid costs to standing charges. We already think standing charges are too high and need to come down, but because a typical Octopus Go customer uses more than twice the electricity of a typical home, shifting these costs off the unit rate does save you money overall.”
Octopus Energy chief executive Greg Jackson stated: “You don’t need to buy a charger from us. The points about timing are well taken. In terms of “reviewed every three months” – although the price was changed less than three months ago – that was simply passing through the Government cut, in full. We haven’t changed the price ourselves for four months (Octopus Go) and longer (for Intelligent Octopus Go) – and in terms of notice period, Ofgem removed the 30 days (we assume because it sometimes caused people to leave good value tariffs).
“We aim for about two weeks – slightly less this time, as we didn’t want to email over the weekend when there’d be less support available. And perspective is important – an EV on these tariffs is about five to eight times cheaper per mile than a petrol car, despite the fact the UK has such high electricity prices.”
An Octopus Energy spokesperson commented: “We’re delighted that hundreds of thousands of Intelligent Octopus Go customers remain on Britain’s cheapest standalone EV tariff, with many Octopus Go customers also charging up at 20% below the price cap.”
They continued: “Before the war in the Middle East, customers on these tariffs saved over £860 a year on charging compared to filling a car with petrol; now it’s over £1,000 cheaper – one of the many tariffs that Octopus is delighted to be providing to help drive down the cost of energy, even in the current volatile period.”
