Are Octopus Energy saving sessions worth it?

Introduction

Energy bills remain a heavy burden for many households. While finding a cheaper tariff is one way to cut costs, Octopus Energy offers a different approach. Its Saving Sessions scheme pays you for changing when you use electricity.

Instead of just charging you for the power you consume, the supplier rewards you for helping to balance the national energy grid. When the grid is under pressure, you get paid to use less. When there is too much renewable power available, you get paid to use more. This guide covers how the scheme operates, what you can expect to earn, and the practical steps you need to take to join in.

The quick verdict

How Saving Sessions work in 2026

The national energy grid must match supply and demand perfectly at all times. When demand spikes—such as when millions of people start cooking at 5:30 PM—the grid operator traditionally had to fire up expensive backup gas power stations to keep the lights on.

Now, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) runs the Demand Flexibility Service. This system pays consumers to shift their usage instead. Octopus Saving Sessions are the supplier's version of this national scheme. While it started as a winter-only trial, DFS became a year-round service on 27 November 2024. Ofgem approved further changes in March 2026, including the ability to reward both turning demand up and down.

The scheme now works in two different directions, depending on what the grid needs on any given day. You are sent a 'mission' by Octopus, and if you accept it and meet the target, you earn reward points.

How much money can you actually make?

The amount you earn depends on how much electricity you manage to shift and the specific reward rate set for that day. Payouts change per event based on wholesale energy prices, and Octopus does not publish a typical per-session figure. Its own results give a sense of scale, though: in the scheme's first winter, 2022/23, it shared £5.3 million between 700,000 customers — around £7.50 each on average — while the top 5% of savers averaged over £40, a figure that rose to over £60 the following winter. What you earn overall depends on how many sessions run and how much usage you can shift.^[1]

To put this into context, customers on a standard variable tariff like Flexible Octopus pay rates governed by the Ofgem price cap — on average across Great Britain, 26.11p per kWh for electricity plus a 57.19p daily standing charge for Direct Debit customers between 1 July and 30 September 2026. On the Octopus 12M Fixed July 2026 v2 tariff, electricity unit rates vary by region, from roughly 24p to 27p per kWh. A single session is unlikely to earn you more than a modest amount — the average of around £7.50 was built up across a whole winter of sessions, not one evening — so think of the rewards as a small bonus on your bill rather than a major saving.^[2][3]

You receive your earnings as Octopoints. You can convert these points directly into credit on your energy bill. However, because Saving Sessions are part of the wider Octoplus rewards scheme, you can also exchange your points for other perks. Octopus also runs large prize draws for taking part. In a June 2025 session, for example, participants were entered to win a Ford Puma Gen-E Premium EV worth around £35,000, as well as thousands of plush toys.

The collective savings are huge. By May 2026, the supplier reported that customers had earned a total of £5,800,000 through the sessions and unlocked around £4,600,000 worth of free power.

The wider Octoplus rewards scheme

You cannot access Saving Sessions without joining Octoplus, which is the supplier's broader loyalty programme. Beyond the grid events, Octoplus offers several other ways to save money and get value from your energy account.

Customers who build up their Octopoints balance can spend them on everyday treats. The scheme currently offers weekly free hot drinks from Greggs and discounted tickets at Vue cinemas. If you are highly engaged and use all of these extra perks regularly, Octopus estimates you can save up to £271 a year.

You also earn points for spinning the supplier's digital 'Wheel of Fortune' when you submit a manual meter reading, and you can choose to donate your points to charity if you prefer not to use them on your own bills.

Who can join and how to sign up

You cannot just turn off your lights and expect a discount. You have to meet specific criteria and actively sign up for the events.

How Octopus calculates your savings

To work out your reward, Octopus estimates what you would have used on a normal day from your smart meter history. For Power Down sessions, its terms use average consumption in the relevant periods across up to 60 days of recent history. For Power Up sessions, the baseline uses recent comparable days, with different weekday and weekend calculations.^[1]

If you normally use 2 kWh of electricity between 5 PM and 6 PM, and you only use 0.5 kWh during a Power Down session, you are rewarded for saving 1.5 kWh. This means you cannot trick the system by simply having low energy usage all the time. You have to actively drop below your normal routine to earn points.

If you work shifts and your energy use changes wildly from day to day, an average based on your recent history might not accurately reflect what you were planning to use on the day of the session. This can sometimes make it harder to hit the savings target, as your baseline might be artificially low on that specific day.^[2]

NESO introduced a self-nominated baseline option in April 2026, but this is intended for intermittent renewables and industrial or commercial assets. Octopus’s baseline method for households depends on whether the session is a Power Down or Power Up event. Because Octopus has to process half-hourly meter data, you will not see your results instantly. Octopus says earnings are added to Octoplus within a few weeks, while its terms say it will use reasonable endeavours to credit Octopoints within 14 business days.

Gas heating and common mistakes

One of the most common mistakes people make during a Power Down session is turning off their central heating. Saving Sessions only apply to electricity. If you have a gas boiler, turning down your radiators will not earn you any Octopoints, and will just leave your house cold for no reason.

Your electricity meter will barely notice the difference if you turn off a gas boiler. You should focus your efforts on heavy electrical items instead, such as ovens, electric showers, immersion heaters, and plug-in oil radiators.

Likewise, you should never turn off essential appliances like your fridge or freezer. The financial reward is not worth the risk of spoiling your food. The goal is to shift flexible usage, not to sit in a cold, dark house without the essentials.

How to maximise your earnings during a Power Down

When the grid is strained, you need to cut your usage below your normal baseline. Here are the most effective ways to do it.

How to maximise your earnings during a Power Up

When there is too much wind and solar power on the grid, Octopus wants you to use as much electricity as possible during a set window.

Automating your savings with smart tech

Taking part manually requires a change to your daily routine, which can be frustrating for busy families. This is the main trade-off of the scheme: you have to balance convenience against the financial savings.

Smart technology can automate compatible EV charging or home batteries around lower-cost periods. However, Saving Session eligibility and rewards can work differently for smart-tariff customers, so check the event and tariff terms before relying on automation.

For example, smart charging or battery software can automatically pause your EV charging during a Power Down, or fill your home battery during a Power Up. You can then discharge that battery to run your home during expensive peak times. Where Saving Sessions are open to you on your tariff, this hands-off approach means the technology handles the shifting for you, with far less disruption to your daily routine.

Why the national grid relies on this scheme

The UK energy network is going through a massive transition. As we build more wind farms and solar panels, our power supply becomes more dependent on the weather. This means the grid needs more flexibility to cope with times when the wind drops, or when it blows too hard.

The government's Clean Power 2030 Action Plan and Clean Flexibility Roadmap have set a target of securing 10 to 12 gigawatts of demand-side flexibility by 2030. Schemes like Saving Sessions are a central pillar of this national policy.

The scale of the project is growing rapidly. By early 2024, over 1,200,000 customers had joined the Octopus scheme, and nearly 1,000,000 eligible homes opted into the June 2025 sessions alone. It is far cheaper and greener to pay households to shift their usage than it is to build, maintain, and fire up fossil fuel power stations just to cover a few hours of peak demand.

Final verdict