EDF and Octopus launch Electrify Britain campaign to cut electricity bills and emissions

• Campaigning organisation dedicated to ‘driving down bills and eliminating emissions’
• It wants to reduce the burden of policy costs from domestic electricity bills
• Its aim is to encourage local generation and the consumption of low-carbon energy 

Octopus Energy and EDF Energy have partnered to launch Electrify Britain, a new organisation dedicated to driving down bills and eliminating emissions from home heating, transport and local communities through widespread electrification. 

In a statement, EDF Energy said Electrify Britain will aim to promote heat pump installation, electrify transport by expanding EV infrastructure and make it easier for communities to generate their own energy. 

Its priorities will be to:

• Make electricity pricing fair: Electrify Britain believes that by removing policy costs – which account 17% of electricity bill prices – electricity could be made more affordable for vulnerable customers.
• Electrify home heat: The organisation wants to promote heat pumps and other clean heating technologies and end the installation of gas boilers immediately in new home builds.
• Electrify transport: It wants to support the expansion of EV infrastructure and providing innovative tariffs to make EV ownership more accessible and affordable.
• Electrify communities: Another aim is to encourage local generation and consumption of low carbon energy.

Describing Britain’s energy market as “fragile” to external shocks,  Simone Rossi, CEO, EDF Energy in the UK said: “We are launching a joint campaign because there is no time to wait. We are seeing the impacts of climate change. We need more electricity but less CO2, we need to Electrify Britain.”

Greg Jackson, CEO, Octopus Energy, said when households go electric, they often don’t go back as it is “cheaper and better”.

“There’s been so much focus on electrifying generation, but not enough on electrifying end use, where customers can make significant savings. Electric cars on a smart tariff cost seven times less per mile than a petrol car,” Jackson said. 

“People with heat pumps usually pay less than those with gas boilers and they rate their heat pump higher. It’s time for us to seize the benefits of electrification for British customers.”

According to the suppliers, electrified homes that use heat pumps can save hundreds of pounds compared to gas boilers and electric vehicles (EV) are already £1,000 cheaper to  run annually compared to petrol vehicles. 

Electrification is crucial to achieving net zero, both companies said, and currently transport accounts for 23% of UK emissions, and domestic heating contributes 15%. 

Additionally, dependence on gas has cost the UK £75-£80bn over the past two and a half years, but “transitioning to green electricity reduces electricity reduces Britain’s vulnerability to fossil fuel price spikes and inflation”.