Octopus Energy should be free for the poor low income and cheap for those who can afford , also Octopus Energy is subsidized by us tax payers, its only fair to share their profits or give discounts to working tax payers instead of robbing tax payers twice
@@Kente9011 Octopus Energy is a business. Every business aim is to make money. You should complain for the government who hand money without fighting the cause of higher energy cost. Also, how can a company wait until 2037 to get their solar farm connected to the grid? Useless government. They cannot do anything properly. Wasting our taxes and increasing them, all they are good at -.-
if you want ev public charging prices and ev car prices to come down , just don't buy an ev and or go back to petrol diesel cars, this way it will bring all prices down 75%
Greg needs to run our country. He is passionate and talks complete sense. Tells it as it is. Octopus Energy are excellent, no two ways about it. Haven't seen one company match them in attitude, support, innovation. Brilliant company. Thank you Octopus Team. 🐙
Brilliant video and great to hear personally from Greg. I recommend Octopus as much as I can to my friends and family and have been happy for years with this organic and innovative company. 🥰
Been with Octopus many years now. Excellent company and great electric price. Never had any issues. Easy app that works well and easy to send monthly meter readings. Thank you Greg! Keep up the great work
Standing charges aren’t set by us but by Ofgem and they’re charged to us for every meter we supply. We've always been quite vocal in opposing the standing charge increase, even keeping ours 4% below the price cap where possible. There’s more info here: octopus.energy/blog/standing-charges plus a video with more detail here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Vbz9eIHU7sQ.htmlsi=HcMg73sKqD1-gB1J.
You know them energy firms went bust, we are paying for that, also you know them smart meters they fit, we all pay for this too. Im up for smart meters, but agree with you, needs new gov to sort out.
@@user-dt4lc2do9bhe literally answered your question about standing charges and profits in the video. Maybe you should have another go at watching the video only this time try paying attention. As for virtue signalling, I’m not sure you know what that means or where it came from.
Received my April charges today. Your email says Ofgem have made a 'small increase' to Standing Charges but the attachment shows Electricity Standing charge is going up from 48p daily to over 61p. That is not a small increase. Outrageous, a 25% + hike. Tell me it's a typo. Outrageous profiteering. There was also no reason to increase costs this Jan - Mar during the coldest months. Again, profiteering.
This is scandalous. I've filled in a supplier change to Tomato Energy yesterday because of this. They charge slightly higher unit rates but much lower standing charges so I'll be better off moving. Under the Octopus prices from next month my forecast was actually set to increase😮
Exactly and it’s all different postcode lottery and north south divide with standing charges. I got in touch told I have too much credit. Yes I like to build up a credit cause I don’t like massive great big bills in the winter and it’s how I ensure I can keep it running, but that don’t mean I am not struggling.
It would be if Octopus were enjoying that 25% increase, which they are not as Greg said they are absorbing as much of the "cost to them" as they can. What should make you mad is Octopus cannot connect more cheaper renewables to the grid for 13 years!! Sure the energy companies that are fossil fuel companies are proforteering as they are not customers like Octopus are. We desperately need real change as the PM's announcement yesterday that we need more gas plants flys in the face of the facts, Batteries plus renewables are much much cheaper and are not reliant on expensive imported gas!
I am new customer with octopus. I have found Octopus are well organised and their all advisors respond and explain on the telephone and email any problem very clearly and in friendly manner. Comparing with the biggest company the British Gas Octopus is a fresh air among the utilities companies. Thanks to Greg for his approach to reach octopus customers as he one of us. Carry on the good work please.
I have been an Octopus customer for the last 4 years and are very impressed with the way they operate. Greg Jackson talks a lot of sense and has been very effective in challenging the previously accepted 'norms' of the UK's energy market. Octopus are an extremely innovative energy supplier and I have every intention of remaining one of their customers for this reason alone. The UK's energy sector, and especially the long established but non-sensical rules that are hurting all energy users badly, MUST be radically overhauled as soon as possible. I found this update very helpful and certainly agree with the need to change the way that standing charges are determined. I was shocked though to hear Octopus have been told they cannot get a grid connection for their proposed solar farm in County Durham until 2037! What the hell is stopping this from happening? And on the same day, the Prime Minister announces the UK must more new gas fired power stations, which do not include any measures for carbon capture. What happened to the UK's climate commitments I wonder?
What a genuine bloke running one of the biggest energy companies going! I’d trust you a damn sight more than Chris O’Shea at Centrica. Keep up the good work!
I can’t knock the service Octopus provide .. but the standing charges are crippling me. I’m a single person living alone, I work really hard and get no handouts but I can’t afford to put my heating on and come home to a cold house simply because the standing charges cost so much and zap my monthly instalment - something needs to change. You’ve reduced the energy charge (conveniently just as winter is ending) and put the standing charges up !!! It’s a no win situation ……
I'm really sorry to hear this and I know how hard things are with prices still high. I'd like to help. Have you applied for help from our Assist fund before? We offer standing charge holidays to those most in need: octopus.energy/blog/bill-support/
@@OctopusEnergy i did try to get help and was really helpful. The advices are to turn off heating, reduce usage, stop breathing, quit living etc. Thank you for being so kind.
Standing charges are high whichever supplier...even the one that claims they don't have one charge 50p extra for the first unit every day. Keep in mind Octopus don't charge exit fees on their 12 month fixed tariffs and both the standing charge and unit rates are lower.
@@seamusellis1450 people who support their governing bodies are equal to those who defend their religion are also equally equal to chickens who defend KFC 🍗 The reason why they increased the price was because of sanctions on russia. Tell me what have they done to do anything to actually reduce the price? Instead they have only kept increasing it wickedly every winter and would reduce it during the summer. Now they raised the price of standing charge over summer...how cunningly smart. I'd speak to my supplier cuz i deal with them cuz i pay them. I dont care what others do. My authorities should make my living worth it and not someone else from Palestine.
Went into my account online today for the first time. I get brain fog and anything like that is daunting. I was beyond impressed with the set up. All the info was easy to access, clear, changes to my account were so easy, quite the best account pages I've seen on any company. Loved the fairly dark but very attractive lay out too, really helpful for light sensitive folk like myself. Thank you!
Thank you so much, we hold ourselves to high accessibility standards and have a few more options available to make it even better: octopus.energy/accessibility/
Thanks for the update - Octopus standing out again way above the rest, just look at our comments. Refreshing to see, the country needs more people like you!
The standing charge is getting ridiculous. It's punishing those that use less energy as it's becoming a higher and higher proportion of the daily bill.
Absolutely. I use bare minimum energy in a flat and get penalised the same as a four bedroom house using loads. They should make it under a certain unit cap your standing charges are less
octopus energy has been the best energy company i've been with and wished i joined sooner.please keep up the great work your doing. sorry greg but you do look a bit like boris johnson.sorry mate.
Good to see the founder of Octopus Energy, I love this company. It feels like they genuinely want the best for their customer, even if it means cutting some of their profits. It's win-win for all. I wish all big companies were run like this.
Was a Shell Energy customer whose account was sold on to Octopus. Told nothing would change as a result. However both the tariffs and standing charges all increased! Nice video telling us the charging system is all wrong but it works in favour of suppliers, increasing standing charges every quarter and electricity tariffs based only on gas wholesale prices. You can have as many solar and wind farms supplying cheap electricity as you like, but our bills will never reflect this….
Joined Octopus in March 2019 after a recommendation from a Ricardo energy consultant who was working on Riding Sunbeams, a project to install solar farms near railway tracks to feed the railway system. Still here and love the innovative ideas and commitment to a green energy future which puts the UK government to shame. Vote Greg Jackson for Energy Secretary.
Why on earth does it take 13 years to connect a new energy source in Durham to the National Grid. That’s the scandal in this message. Well done Octopus
I'm a new Octopus customer after having had a terrible experience with British Gas. I agree with the comments about the standing charge in particular, it is far too high
Finally, A utilities CEO that doesn’t annoy me. Greg , great leadership. If anyone from South West Water is watching, this is how you run companies and keep customer relations , OFWAT take note please. Ralph
When was the last time you saw a British gas exec explaining rate changes and the factors behind them? To all those complaining, listen to the content of the video. Greg is explaining the reasoning behind this. Small tweaks around the edges are fine, but the system needs reform. YOU are the ones who can help this... With your vote, with your mails to MPs etc. We won't get off our dependence on gas until this happens. Thanks for the video Greg, I'm proud to be with octopus and recommend them to anyone who asks!
Interesting video @GregJackson. I have heard about this dysfunctional energy market before, but no detail on who is responsible for it and who has the power to change it? Where does the excess profit of the current system go? Who benefits?
I cannot speak highly enough of Octopus after my move to them several years ago. I’ve introduced some of my friends to Octopus and none of them have looked back. Their ethos and focus on the consumer is so refreshing and I am always impressed by your words, Greg. Thank you for all you are doing for us and I am with you every step of the way.
Greg, if only all energy companies and CEOs were like you and Octopus. You're a breath of fresh air. Keep pushing onward and hopefully the sunny uplands of cheap clean energy will be realised soooner rather than later. Cheers
This makes sense Greg Jackson. Please work with the local communities in County Durham prior to development of the clean energy project, County Durham is a gorgeous place to live and while we appreciate the need we need to ensure that any developments are done sensitively and as much in keeping with the landscape as possible.
Octopus are great. This chap comes across as very genuine and trustworthy, and the vid really helps explain things. Wish more companies were as transparent and down to earth as this.
The comments from your customers speak for themselves and I agree with them all. I am a landlord and I move all my properties to Octopus each time tenants move out as you provide a seamless, painfree way of managing utility costs and very reasonable tariffs (and they can move to anyone they want afterwards but rarely do). The solar farm situation seems totally bonkers to me - get it now, we need as much renewable energy sources as possible. Keep going Octopus - you are the best
Been with you for around 4 years, it’s so refreshing to be with a company that cares , and keeps us informed and engaged thanks Octopus keep up the good work
Octopus seems so genuine, they really seem to care about the customers. I joined because of the cute octopus and stayed because of the company ethos, brilliant website, great email updates and clear information
Octopus is like a security blanket, they make me as a single elderly lady feel safe and secure. I am sure that they will everything in there power (no pun intended) to help all of their customers.
@@Dacialastunactually they don’t. Energy suppliers aren’t making much profit. Energy generators are the ones making the money. In some cases the same company does both (Centrica / British Gas for example)
Sorry but standing charges need to come down .Had an email from Octopus today saying maybe better to fix as prices are coming down in April .Had a look your best fixed price ,the standing order has gone up by 15p more a day ,thats just ridiculous....
If you listen to the video, standing price is because of regulations. They are charged based on each meter and that cost is passed down to us, partially.
Hey Julie, Ofgem's Price Cap only affects standard variable tariffs like our Flexible Octopus tariff. They vary region-to-region due to maintenance costs, which differ depending on local network operators. We’re always trying to keep our standing charges as low as possible across the board, & have continued to keep ours 4% below the price cap to help where we can. There’s a bit more info on how it all works here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Vbz9eIHU7sQ.html & our CEO spoke about it here too: twitter.com/g__j/status/1712349932093337791?s=20 🐙⚡
Thank you and your friendly team for the superb service and market leadership in innovation. Greg, on behalf of your customers and the wider market, it’s crucial you continue to lobby for positive change to an antiquated and unfair UK energy market. Thank you and keep up the great work.
I am a loyal customer and I believe in what Octopus are trying to do. I have solar, battery and an EV so power is very important to me. Keep on pushing the boundaries (and by the way, speed up your heat pump development because you still cannot provide me with one).
Admittedly I’m extremely frustrated with profits before people with the big energy suppliers. But I can’t knock Octopus bc they’re a great company with great customer service. 10/10 👍🏻
I switched from British Gas to Octopus 🐙 early last year and since then it has been a smooth ride and I will never leave octopus again no matter what. British Gas was almost reaping me off until my friend recommended octopus 🐙 and I am glad I switched immediately. Thanks Greg and octopus team for the wonderful work you are doing keep it up mate. Also I have been enjoying the rewards of sausage and coffee every week thanks guys 😊🙏🙏🙏
I've been with them years to find out l own l £900 in debt which they tell you they monitor your bill this not true this happen since 2021 they haven't contacted me so lam not happy lam now paying £100 a month to try and clear this debt and lam on a pension so watch your bills carefully lam not the only one there's hundreds of people like me on here maybe if was contacted in the beginning this wouldn't happen 😢
Hey Angela. 👋 We do carry out regular payment adequacy reviews, which are a review of your usage vs current payments. We should be emailing you at least every few months to let you know what this means for your account, so I would quite like to look into your case in a bit more detail to help. If you could send your details over on octo.ps/nudge, I'd love to help.
You’re right, standing charges are out of control, the public picking up the bill when they should be taxing big polluters. We’re gas and electric through octopus, with octopus intelligent and it’s an incredible saving against our old diesel car. Outside of off peak we’re as careful as we can be with usage and our thermostat is set to 10C, occasionally we put it on for 1 hour but 16% of our bills are standing charges, £300 a year. We can’t cut usage any more and in spite of unit rates dropping, our bills are still rising 😢
Octopus took over my supplier roughly 5 years ago. Best thing to happen, as Octopus are the most honest supplier out there. While they are honest, I will stick with them.
Hi Greg, thanks for the update, very informative! i've been with Octopus now since last August, and i think its brilliant! thanks for putting consumers first, and good luck driving the policy changes. It would be nice to get my British Gas smart meters connected to your system as soon as possible 😁
Before, my energy was Shell energy , they were not cheaper. Now they change over to octopus energy, what is very, very expensive . My January and February bill was very, very expensive. 😢
It's a pity more people don't move to OCTOPUS 🐙🐙🐙 Energy if only they knew the savings to be made. Keep up the good work Greg 👍👍👍👍 Type LED Incandescent Watts 10W 60W Life Span 25,000+ hours 1,000-2,000 hours Initial Cost £2-15 £2-6 Cost per Year £3.60 £23.88
Hey there, our Flexible standing charges are below the cap (& the lowest of any large supplier). We’ve published a table with rates for every region here along with lots more info on how it all works: octopus.energy/blog/energy-price-cap-april-2024/ . This pricing is set by Ofgem - we strongly opposed the standing charge increase & aren’t passing on the full increase to customers. There's also more details on standing charges here too: octopus.energy/standing-charges/ 🐙⚡
Hi Greg quite agree with you regarding the Standing Charge. I understand this pays for the infrastructure i.e. we have excellent service from SSEN; also the meters (we recently had a free latest edition smart meter fitted). However I am also conscious that there are hideous amounts of money paid to green energy to shut off supply when green energy is plentiful simply because it cannot be stored and the distribution network is not there to carry the charge which is very annoying. We are a new customer to Octopus and consider you are doing a great job.
I really appreciate this company and how Greg addresses his customers to keep them updated. My gripe is with the energy cap which the Government introduced. I think it was about 40%. At the time, France's energy cap was 4% and Spain's energy cap was at a similar level. I know this , having friends living there. Typically, the UK was well over the top in this. Why?
I cannot believe in this day and age we have a private business the Grid, demanding electricity is tied to the price of gas. Why do we have to pay so much in standing charges? They are not supposed to make a profit out of it but using clever accounting they do. Connection to the grid should be no longer than 30 days, if these privately owned DNO’s cannot provide the connections then the solar & wind farm suppliers should be empowered to do the work, most delays are tactical, power stations don’t want the grid owners to provide these connections. If ever there was a good case for Nationalisation this is it. Meanwhile keep up the good work Octopus!
OK Greg, so why do you not put Octopus generation and supply companies together and give us users the benefit of the eye-watering profits Octopus is making on its generation activities?
Cracking entreaty for sense and common sense in the energy sector, Greg. I really appreciate your thoughts and explanations of some of the weirdness in the market. Yes, please get rid of standing charges and that way the more energy you use, the more you pay- great feedback loop, and lets use more green electricity, if it is going to be cheap, than gas, as currently heating with gas is cheaper. If we are going towards an electric future, then we need practice in not relying on our central heating run by the stuff. Well done. Looking forward to the next. OE, the best supplier, thanks for making this as win-win as you can.
From a cynical old man, I like Greg Jackson. He talks sense and, what is more, shows a transparancy that is sadly lacking in other energy CEO's and totally absent in our politicians. Glad I'm with Octopus.
Having lived in central Europe for half of my life, where solar panels and heat pumps, and special tariffs aligned with these technologies, have been the norm for decades now, it's clear that Octopus is one of a handful of companies on this island that is progressive and not stagnating in the middle ages like many others. I am delighted with the Cosy Octopus tariff, and not just due to the pricing pattern. But mainly due to Octopus's attempt to reform and re-educate the masses in shifting their energy usage away from the peak times. Until clean energy storage is efficient enough, the re-education is fundamental in my view, and will go a long way.
Greg why is it we can’t have the unit price and standing charge as one unit charge? We used to have this so why can’t we now? It’s unfair for those who spend to reduce or to invest in batteries and solar to then have to pay the standing charge.
Hi there, some suppliers tried tariffs without them, but the cost is added to the unit rate instead. We’re charged the costs that standing charges cover for every meter we supply - even if there’s zero usage. It covers stuff like paying the local businesses who own and run the pipes and wires, network maintenance and repairs, + social schemes to help the most vulnerable. We’ve strongly opposed the recent increases have consistently kept ours lower than Ofgem’s price cap.
I think increasing the standing charge is a deliberate tactic to counterbalance the loss of usage & therefore profit by people who have taken initiative to self generate by installing solar etc. plus the rate of payback for the excess that’s supplied to the companies to sell on is extremely imbalanced too…. It’s all greed & corruption.
Greg these are not small amounts, they’re all different standing charges - postcode lottery and north south divide with standing charges. I got in touch as on Universal Credit /carers allowance at some point as looking after 83 year old parents who live with me and I care for them. I was told I have too much credit. Yes I like to build up a credit cause I don’t like massive great big bills in the winter and it’s how I ensure I can keep it running, but that don’t mean I am not struggling.
I would be happy if Octopus Energy could initiate a debate or maybe even a movement calling for such reforms as mentioned in this video. Individual customers cannot do anything, but such a big player as Octopus Energy with backing from its customers, would be a huge power, that no government could simply ignore.
Also recived my April statement, you say energy pri es going down, yes orice per kilowatt but my bill has gone up due to the standing charge and that is out of my control, doesn't matter how much I cut down on the energy I use I am still paying more.
I love Octopus and the absolute transformation you are bringing to our energy system. There is a tariff for everyone, whether you want simple or involved. With so much that needs to be corrected regarding the way our country is run, I'm standing in the General Election for the Green Party to do my bit! I'd love to talk to you more about how you feel energy policy needs to change (planning system, infrastructure investment to bring on grid connections, community energy, regional pricing, incentives for battery owners to routinely discharge during peak periods).
Thank you Greg, very happy to hear your thoughts on current energy industry regulation and how it can be improved. Standing charges are indeed out of control and I hope the regulator will see sense before too long and rein them in again. In the past couple of years we have installed a solar PV and battery system, and are currently looking to get a heat pump installed as soon as possible to replace our 16 year old oil boiler. Unfortunately Octopus aren't currently installing heat pumps in my area (west central Scotland) but I've managed to find a "Heat Geek" certified installer who should be sending me a proposal tomorrow. I also want to extend a personal thanks to you for opening up solar PV export tariffs to non-MCS certified installations. I was fortunate enough to be one of, if not THE first to be included in the trial process after I emailed you to plead my case, and I am happy to report we have exported over 3200kWh since then. We will also be taking part in today's saving session in about 15 mins. Keep fighting the good fight! 👍
Keeping banging the drum. It’s people like you Greg and your customers demanding change that will make a difference. I am a new Octopus customer based in NE England and would love to see change especially standing charge. Maybe some political party will put it in their manifesto 🤞
We’re in the north west England, north east Wales and our standing charge is already 61p per day ( the highest in the country), I dread to think what it will be in April
Hi Greg, Great to hear from you. As others have commented, I also recommend Octopus to everyone. No other supplier comes even close to your customer-focused and innovative approach to the energy business. As an aside, do you know when the Cosy 6 will be available?
Standing charges are just like booking fees! I book a ticket to my local Everyman cinema and it is a £3.00 booking fee. It is all digital! Who is doing the work? Me! Likewise, Standing charges are there purely for profit. It's theft. If I did that with my customers, there would be an uproar and they would leave, but our hands are very much tied to the fossil fuel industry. I do pay very little with Octopus because I refuse to line the pockets of the FF companies any further. I am often cold, but a hot water bottle, blanket and my log burner mean I manage. If the heating does go on, it is only in the room I am sitting in, plus the bathroom for 2 hours maximum. Roll on Summer!
