Octopus says it chose to ditch profit to keep energy bills down

The energy supplier said it would have made a slim annual profit of £9m but said instead invested in protecting customers from the worst of the energy price rises. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

Octopus Energy said it has decided against making its first ever annual profit after ploughing £150m into attempting to keep customers’ gas and electricity bills down.

The energy supplier said it would have made a slim annual profit of £9m but instead decided to invest in protecting customers from the worst of the energy price increases caused by a sharp rise in wholesale gas costs linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The decision resulted in a £141m operating loss for the last financial year, to the end of April 2022.