Octopus Energy · Import tariff · VAT included
Octopus Flux prices
An import and export pair built for homes with solar and a battery.
Your postcode is sent once to Octopus Energy’s public region lookup — the same one they bill from. We do not put it in the URL, analytics or database, and do not keep it.
Octopus Flux is a matched pair of tariffs for homes that both generate and store electricity. Import is cheap overnight and expensive at peak; export pays least overnight and most at peak.
The two halves are designed to work together. A battery charged cheaply overnight and discharged into the grid at peak earns the difference on both sides, which is why Flux without a battery is a much weaker proposition.
Showing Southern Scotland. Currently on sale: Octopus Flux Import. Tariff code E-1R-FLUX-IMPORT-23-02-14-N.
- Average today
- 24.96p
- Cheapest today
- 14.98p
- Most expensive today
- 34.94p
- Standing charge
- 62.83p
weighted by how long each price lasts
per day
Today’s price bands
Octopus Flux repeats a daily shape rather than pricing every half hour separately, so the bands are the schedule.
| From | To | Hours | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00 | 02:00 | 7.0 | 24.96p |
| 02:00 | 05:00 | 3.0 | 14.98pcheapest |
| 05:00 | 16:00 | 11.0 | 24.96p |
| 16:00 | 19:00 | 3.0 | 34.94pmost expensive |
| 19:00 | 02:00 | 7.0 | 24.96p |
Tomorrow’s prices
tomorrow: 5 half-hourly prices from 19:00 to 19:00, ranging from 14.98p to 34.94p per kWh.
Show all 5 prices as a table
| From | Pence per kWh |
|---|---|
| 19:00 | 24.96p |
| 02:00 | 14.98p |
| 05:00 | 24.96p |
| 16:00 | 34.94p |
| 19:00 | 24.96p |
Cheapest half hours tomorrow
- 02:0014.98p
- 19:0024.96p
- 05:0024.96p
- 19:0024.96p
- 16:0034.94p
Most expensive is 16:00 at 34.94p.
Compare tomorrow across tariffs
Tomorrow’s prices on every Octopus Energy tariff that publishes a day ahead, side by side for your region.
Tomorrow’s prices comparedWhen to use electricity
- Cheapest 3-hour run starts 02:00, averaging 14.98p per kWh.
- Cheapest half hour today is 02:00 at 14.98p.
- Most expensive is 16:00 at 34.94p, so it is worth avoiding heavy use then.
Against the price cap in Southern Scotland
The Ofgem cap for a single-rate direct debit meter here is 25.85p per kWh plus 64.17p a day. Today this tariff averaged 0.89p below the cap unit rate.
This compares one day’s unit rates only. What you pay also depends on the standing charge and on when you use electricity, so treat this as an indication rather than a saving. Cap period 2026-07-01 to 2026-09-30.
Estimated annual cost
£853a year
2,500 kWh a year in Southern Scotland, at 24.96p per kWh plus 62.83p a day standing charge.
Octopus Fluxprices change over time, but we do not yet hold enough days of them to take a meaningful average, so this uses the tariff’s standard rate — what you would pay having shifted nothing. Expect the real figure to be lower, and this estimate to sharpen as the price history builds.
Price history
The line is the average price for each day; the shaded band is the cheapest and most expensive price within it.
Last 30 days: 5 days from 02 Aug to 06 Aug. Average prices range from 24.96p to 26.53p per kWh, with the shaded band showing the cheapest and most expensive price in each period.
1 of 5 periods are only partly covered by stored prices and are shown as they are rather than filled in.
Show these 5 figures as a table
| Period | Average | Cheapest | Most expensive |
|---|---|---|---|
| 02 Aug | 26.53p | 24.96p | 34.94p |
| 03 Aug | 24.96p | 14.98p | 34.94p |
| 04 Aug | 24.96p | 14.98p | 34.94p |
| 05 Aug | 24.96p | 14.98p | 34.94p |
| 06 Aug | 24.96p | 14.98p | 34.94p |
Prices by region
Octopus Flux unit rate by region
The average price per unit on 2026-08-07. Where you live changes what you pay, because the cost of distributing electricity differs by network.
Hover a region for its figure, or select one to load its prices.
Tap a region to load its prices.
| Region | Per kWh |
|---|---|
| East Midlands | 24.22p |
| North East England | 24.36p |
| Yorkshire | 24.40p |
| West Midlands | 24.44p |
| Southern Scotland | 24.96p |
| North West England | 25.27p |
| London | 25.47p |
| South Wales | 25.47p |
| Eastern England | 25.51p |
| South West England | 25.54p |
| Southern England | 25.56p |
| Northern Scotland | 25.59p |
| South East England | 25.81p |
| Merseyside and North Wales | 26.80p |
Northern Ireland has a separate electricity market and is not covered by these regions.
Octopus Flux standing charge by region
The daily charge you pay before using any electricity at all. It varies more between regions than the unit rate does, and you cannot avoid it by using less.
Hover a region for its figure, or select one to load its prices.
Tap a region to load its prices.
| Region | Per day |
|---|---|
| London | 42.4p |
| North West England | 44.9p |
| Southern England | 47.7p |
| East Midlands | 51.1p |
| Eastern England | 52.2p |
| South East England | 52.8p |
| South Wales | 54.9p |
| Northern Scotland | 56.3p |
| South West England | 56.3p |
| West Midlands | 57.3p |
| North East England | 61.5p |
| Yorkshire | 61.7p |
| Southern Scotland | 62.8p |
| Merseyside and North Wales | 68.0p |
Northern Ireland has a separate electricity market and is not covered by these regions.
Context
The price cap since Oct 18
A year of energy at typical consumption, paying by direct debit. This is the benchmark every tariff on this site is measured against, and it is a Great Britain figure rather than a regional one.
The cap peaked at £3,582 in Jan - Mar 2023 and stands at £1,663 for July - Sept 2026.
Show every period
| Period | Cap level |
|---|---|
| July - Sept 2026 | £1,663 |
| Apr - June 26 | £1,477 |
| Jan - Mar 2026 | £1,584 |
| Oct - Dec 2025 | £1,576 |
| July - Sept 2025 | £1,541 |
| Apr - June 25 | £1,655 |
| Jan - Mar 25 | £1,561 |
| Oct - Dec 24 | £1,543 |
| July-Sept 2024 | £1,414 |
| Apr-June 2024 | £1,521 |
| Jan - Mar 2024 | £1,723 |
| Oct - Dec 2023 | £1,641 |
| July-Sept 2023 | £1,766 |
| Apr-June 2023 | £2,762 |
| Jan - Mar 2023 | £3,582 |
| Oct - Dec 2022 | £2,972 |
| 2022 summer | £1,673 |
| 2021/22 winter | £1,093 |
| 2021 summer | £979 |
| 2020/21 winter | £899 |
| 2020 summer | £967 |
| 2019/20 winter | £979 |
| 2019 summer | £1,039 |
| 2018/19 winter | £945 |
Estimate what it would cost
Enter a number of kWh to see what it would costat today’s average price.
How Octopus Flux works
Import follows a banded shape: a cheap overnight block, a standard rate through the day, and a higher peak in the late afternoon and evening. The current bands and prices are in the schedule above.
Export mirrors it. You are paid least for electricity exported overnight and most for electricity exported during the peak, which is when the grid values it most.
The saving comes from the gap between the two. If you charge a battery when import is cheapest and export when export pays most, you gain twice: once on the electricity you did not buy at the peak rate, and again on what you are paid for exporting.
What you need
- Solar panels or another form of generation, with an export meter arrangement in place
- A battery, in practice — without storage you cannot move generation into the paid peak
- A smart meter sending half-hourly readings
What drives what you pay
- Battery capacity, which sets how much you can shift between the cheap and expensive periods
- How much you generate, and how much of it you would otherwise use yourself
- Household consumption during the peak import band, which is the most expensive electricity on the tariff
- The season, since you will generate far more in June than in December
Who it tends to suit
- Homes with solar panels and a battery that can be charged cheaply and discharged at peak
- Households able to export at the times Flux pays most for it
- People comfortable scheduling a battery around a fixed daily shape
Who it tends not to suit
- Solar homes without a battery, which cannot shift export into the paid peak
- Homes with no generation at all
- Households that use a lot of electricity during the expensive evening peak
Things to watch
- Without a battery, Flux is usually the wrong choice. Solar generates around midday, not during the export peak that pays most.
- The peak import rate is high. A household that uses a lot of electricity in the early evening can lose more on import than it gains on export.
- It needs a battery system that can be scheduled to charge and discharge at set times, which not all installations do well.
Octopus Flux compared with the alternatives
- Against Intelligent Octopus Flux
- The same economics, but Octopus schedules the battery for you against prices and forecast generation. If your battery is compatible, Intelligent Flux removes the management burden; Flux keeps you in control of the schedule.
- Against Agile Octopus with Outgoing
- Pairing Agile import with Outgoing export gives half-hourly prices on both sides and more theoretical upside, but requires far more active management. Flux is the packaged, fixed-schedule version of the same idea.
- Against A standard export tariff
- A flat export rate pays the same whenever you export, so it does not reward timing. If you cannot shift export into the peak — typically because you have no battery — a flat rate is simpler and may pay more overall.
How to switch to Octopus Flux
- You need solar with an export arrangement (an export MPAN) already in place, and a smart meter on half-hourly readings.
- Flux is taken as a pair — the import tariff and its matching export tariff go together, so switching moves both sides at once.
- Requested from the dashboard for existing customers; new customers join Flexible Octopus first. No exit fees.
Our verdict on Octopus Flux
Flux is designed around a battery: charge cheaply overnight, use your own solar through the day, and export into the paid evening peak when export rates are at their highest.
Without storage most of the benefit disappears, because you cannot hold generation back for the peak. Solar alone is better served by a straightforward export tariff.
In its favour
- High export rates in the evening peak
- Cheap overnight import for charging a battery
- Import and export priced as one coherent product
- No exit fees
Against it
- Needs generation, and in practice a battery
- Day import rate is higher than a flat tariff
- Requires an export MPAN already in place
- Needs a smart meter on half-hourly readings
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a battery for Octopus Flux?
In practice yes. Solar generates around midday, while Flux pays most for export during the late-afternoon peak. Without storage you cannot move generation into the window that pays, and the high peak import rate works against you.
How do the import and export rates relate?
They mirror each other. Import is cheapest overnight and dearest at peak; export pays least overnight and most at peak. The value comes from the spread between them.
What are the current Flux bands?
The import bands with times and prices for your region are shown above. Octopus has adjusted the shape since launch, so the live schedule is the reliable source.
Is Flux worth it for solar without storage?
Usually not. You would pay the high peak import rate without being able to collect the high peak export rate, so you get the downside without the upside.