Customers who use Octopus Energy’s Fan Club tariff have shaved between £200 and £400 off their energy bills over the last year or so, according to the energy provider.
Octopus Energy launched the initiative 12 months ago and it was designed to reward customers who use energy when their local offshore wind turbines are in use.
The tariff offers a 20% discount on rates whenever turbines produce less than peak electricity. Under the tariff, customers can see an estimated discount online in real-time and forecast turbine power outputs to help plan their day.
Primarily located between Grimsby and Skegness, the beneficiaires were among the first to take advantage of the energy company’s first-ever offshore wind turbine investment (called “Lincs Offshore”).
Currently, Octopus has investments in three offshore wind farms in the UK. These include Lincs, Hornsea One, and Walney Extension. It also has stakes in projects in Germany and the Netherlands
Octopus’s “Fan Club” tariff was first launched in November 2023. It offers opted-in customers a 50% discount on bills for energy used when wind turbines are going full bore.
There’s an app for that
This is achieved through the company’s innovative Octopus Energy App, enabling customers to schedule energy-thirsty activities during those periods.
This could include doing the laundry (washing and tumble drying), turning on dishwashers, cooking, or putting on the kettle. The tariff isn’t isolated to local customers but is offered to customers near three onshore farms.
“By matching your consumption with the generation of your local Fan, we are able to calculate your savings based on how and when you are using electricity in your home,” Octopus Energy said in a statement.
Following this, a credit is applied to a Fan Club member’s account each month. However, customers must have an SMETS2 or Secure-branded SMETS1 smart meter installed.
These meters enable Octopus to track half-hourly energy use data, which they can cross-reference with outputs from local wind turbines (onshore or offshore).
More Fan Clubs in the works
The Fan Club is currently available in three locations around the UK, including Market Weighton and Yorkshire, and is available to customers with YO43 postcodes.
Another operates in Caerphilly, Wales exclusively for customers with CF81 and NP24 postcodes. The third operates in HX2, BD13, and BD22 postcodes through its Halifax, Yorkshire club. The fourth, and currently final, is the aforementioned Lincs Offshore, Lincolnshire.
This is available for customers with DN31, DN32, DN33, DN34, DN35, DN36, LN11, LN12, LN13, PE24 and PE25 postcodes.
Octopus Energy Generation CEO Zoisa North-Bond said the success of the tariff shows “what the future of energy can look like”.
“By incentivising people to use energy when wind power is abundant locally, we can put money back into customers’ pockets,” North-Bond explained.
“Our offshore ‘Fan Club’ is proof that clean, green energy isn’t just good for the planet, it’s good for your bills too,” she added.
Octopus plans to build on the success of the current initiative by looking at other potential locations across the United Kingdom. This is being market-tested through the company’s new innovative tech platform “Winder.”
According to the company, this tool matches community support for new wind generation with available land (AKA “Tinder for wind”). Since “Fan Club’s” launch, Octopus has received more than 36,000 requests from the public to bring its affordable green tariff to various communities.
At present, offshore wind energy currently plays a significant role in the UK energy system, with approximately 14 GW of installed capacity. But this is only the start, with the UK currently poised to quadruple its offshore wind capacity by 2030.
