Imagine getting paid simply for postponing running your washing machine or dishwasher for an hour. This isn’t a fantasy—it’s the reality for thousands of Octopus Energy customers participating in Octoplus Saving Sessions.
This innovative program, part of the National Energy System Operator’s (NESO) Demand Flexibility Service, turns your smart meter into a money-making tool. By reducing your power usage during specific peak times, you not only ease pressure on the national grid but also earn Octopoints that translate directly into financial rewards.
Ready to join the energy revolution, earn rewards, and secure a £50 switching bonus? Here is everything you need to know about Octopus Saving Sessions.
What Are Octopus Saving Sessions and Why Do They Matter?
Octopus Saving Sessions are designed to encourage customers to reduce their electricity consumption for brief, pre-notified periods, typically lasting an hour.
The goal is to avoid the need to fire up expensive, high-carbon fossil-fuel power plants when electricity demand hits its maximum—usually during the early evening when everyone gets home. Instead of paying those generators vast sums to switch on, Octopus rewards its customers for switching their appliances off or delaying them.
The Core Benefits:
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Direct Rewards: You are compensated in Octopoints for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) you save compared to your typical usage, which can be redeemed as account credit.
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Greener Grid: By shifting energy use away from peak times, the UK energy system relies less on polluting backup generation.
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Future of Energy: Saving Sessions promote a smarter, more flexible national grid where active consumers help balance supply and demand.
Eligibility: Who Can Join the Octoplus Program?
Octopus Energy has made the program more tightly integrated with its loyalty scheme this year. To participate in Saving Sessions for the 2024/2025 winter season, you must meet a few key criteria:
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Be an Octopus Customer: You must be an electricity customer of Octopus Energy.
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Join Octoplus: You must be enrolled in Octoplus, Octopus’s customer rewards scheme, which is free to join.
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Have a Smart Meter: Crucially, you must have a working electricity smart meter capable of sending half-hourly readings to Octopus. This is essential, as the half-hourly data is used to calculate your baseline consumption and, subsequently, your savings.
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Payment Setup: You need to be on a Direct Debit or a smart prepay setup.
If you don’t yet have a smart meter, you can register your interest with Octopus to get one installed, often for free.
How the Sessions Work in 3 Simple Steps
The process is designed to be simple and require minimal effort from the customer:
Step 1: Get Notified and Opt In 📧
Octopus will notify eligible customers via email with as much advance notice as possible (usually the day before) about an upcoming Saving Session in your region. You must actively opt in to each session you plan to participate in via the link in the email or through the Octopus Energy app/dashboard.
Step 2: Reduce Power During Peak Time ⏱️
During the specified 60-minute window (e.g., 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM), you need to cut down your electricity consumption.
Simple Ways to Save:
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Delay running energy-hungry appliances like dishwashers, washing machines, and tumble dryers.
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Turn off non-essential lights and devices.
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Avoid using your oven or stove during the session time.
Step 3: Receive Your Rewards 🎉
After the session concludes, Octopus will analyse your half-hourly smart meter readings and compare your usage during the session to your calculated “typical usage” baseline. Your earnings in Octopoints will be added to your Octoplus account within a few weeks. Octopoints can then be redeemed for credit on your energy bill or for prizes in the Octopus store.
The Regional Rumble: Adding Friendly Competition
This year, Octopus has introduced a fun new element: the Regional Rumble.
The National Energy System Operator (NESO) has tighter requirements this year, meaning not every customer is called upon for every session. Instead, Octopus may call on different regions of the UK as and when specific grid help is needed. To inject some friendly rivalry, these regional sessions are being tracked in a competition to see which area can achieve the biggest overall percentage turndown in power!
You’ll see how your area ranks on the low-power leaderboard via the Octoplus dashboard, adding a community element to your energy saving.
Secure Your £50 Bonus and Start Earning
While Saving Sessions put money back in your pocket for reducing your energy usage, switching to Octopus Energy with a referral link provides an instant reward that reduces your energy rate.
Octopus Energy is continually ranked highly for its customer service and commitment to fair prices. By switching to Octopus, you gain access to innovative programs like Saving Sessions and secure one of the best standard tariffs on the market.
Switch today and claim your mutual £50 credit! Both you and the referrer will receive a £50 credit applied directly to your new energy account, providing an excellent financial boost right before the winter season hits.
Use the referral link below to switch to Octopus Energy and receive your £50 credit:
Join the thousands of customers who are getting rewarded for making the grid greener. Switch to Octopus, sign up for Octoplus, and get ready to earn with every Saving Session!