Octopus Energy announces it will apply its own…

Octopus Energy announces it will apply its own discount to all customers

An energy supplier has revealed it will be applying its own discount to customers by cutting all of its advertising. The firm will use this cash to lower the 'astronomical' standing charges.

Octopus Energy announced its own plans in an email to customers. It comes as new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, unveiled a much-demanded plan to freeze bills at £2,500 for the next two years from October 1.

A standing charge is added to most gas and electricity bills. It's a fixed daily amount that customers have to pay, no matter how much energy is used, to cover the cost of supplying a property with gas and electricity.

Daily unit rates for electricity will be around 34.00p per kWh with a standing charge of 46.36p per day, while gas will have a unit rate of 10.30p per kWh, with a standing charge of 28.49p per day, according to money saving expert Martin Lewis, who added customers may end up paying up to £273 on bills before they use any energy at all.

In an email to customers, Greg Jackson, the founder of Octopus Energy, said: "Raising prices is always hard. But while the cost of living crisis is still huge, the Energy Price Guarantee will limit this rise to less than 10% for most customers, rather than the 80% we were facing.

"From October 1, your unit rates will match, and your standing charges will be 4% cheaper than the Energy Price Guarantee rates. You don't need to do anything – this will be handled automatically.

"We'll automatically reduce your October payment by £67 as part of the Energy Bill Support Scheme. Cheaper, greener energy is why Octopus exists. We've always set our prices below Ofgem's price cap – we're doing that again now, and we intend to keep doing so in future.

"The Government's Energy Price Guarantee is helping lower unit rates, but standing charges are still astronomical. 6 months ago, we introduced Loyal Octopus support to help address this, but today Loyal Octopus support is changing to direct support where it's needed most.

"We're reducing your standing charges a further 4% from the Government discounted level – I wish it could be more, but in times like these it's only right to direct as much help as possible to those less fortunate. We've also stopped advertising on TV, bus stops, train stations, sports arenas and online, and are redirecting all these funds to help customers who are struggling.

"We'll use these funds to provide a standing charge holiday for up to 100,000 customers, for up to 6 months, depending on need. We'll share more about this new program soon."