This past weekend, Octopus Energy reported that it's Agile Octopus smart tariff set a new record by granting customers a payment of up to 20p per kWh of energy they consumed. Link to the tariff.
The agile tariff is the only smart tariff in the United Kingdom that allows customers to benefit from 'negative' prices, motivating them to consume electricity when renewable energy supply is abundant to the grid. This has been termed a 'Price Plunge' situation, which assists in reducing emissions and system costs as customers make the most of renewable power and grid administrators have to pay less to wind farms for restraining production.
On the weekend of June 26th, 2021, Drax Electric Insights reported that wind and solar energy accounted for over 60% of the UK's overall energy production. This prompted Octopus to initiate its highest-paying and longest-running 'Price Plunge' event since its inception in 2019.
The Octopus reported that, during the weekend, a rise in renewable energy caused customers to be paid for consuming electricity from 8 am to 4 pm. Alerts were sent to users to notify them that they could make money by running the washing machine, mowing the lawn, or activating the dishwasher.
The energy company reported that some customers earned a maximum of £22 for increasing their energy consumption within eight hours. At the same time, the top five percent of participants acquired an average of £5.
Agile customers expressed their joy via Twitter regarding the "Price Plunge" event. One individual dubbed it the "best day ever" and hoped that similar gatherings would take place in the future once more sustainable sources of energy are available. RobLihou was one of those customers.
The energy industry is seeing an increase in the popularity of smart or time-of-use tariffs, which allow customers to benefit from discounted prices or receive bonus payments if they consume energy during the off-peak periods when the power grid is less busy.
The Agile Octopus tariff has broadened the scope of this method to include negative pricing intervals, during which energy businesses are compensated for taking advantage of extra electricity. It is predicted that such instances will become more and more frequent, particularly on summer weekends when abundant solar and wind energy is combined with lower seasonal energy needs.
Just days ago, British Gas revealed a 'Summer Sundays' offer as part of its PeakSave tariff, intended to give customers reduced energy bills when they reduce power consumption during peak demand times.
From 25th June to 24th September, customers enrolled in the program will be eligible for a 50 percent discount on all electricity used between 11 am and 4 pm on Sunday. The organization projected that this should lead to about £5 million in customer savings.