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Octopus Energy Intelligent Tariff

At the click of a button, the Intelligent Octopus tariff will charge your EV when energy is at its cheapest and greenest.

The Intelligent Octopus tariff is the latest Octopus Energy electric vehicle tariff on the market. It gives electric vehicle owners a minimum of 6 hours of super-cheap electricity every night at 7.5p per kWh. In some ways, the Intelligent Octopus tariff is a mash-up of both the Octopus Go and Octopus Agile tariffs combined! 🌍

How much does the Octopus Energy Intelligent Tariff cost per kWh?

The Intelligent Octopus tariff, like Octopus Go, provides an off-peak energy tariff for charging your electric vehicle at night. On Intelligence Octopus you will be charged a unit price of 7.5p per kWh for electricity between 11.30 pm and 5.30 am. Outside these times you will have a standard electricity fixed tariff which varies depending on your geographical location within the UK. In my region, this would be 35.04p per kWh. It’s a fixed tariff for 12 months.

So like Octopus Go, Intelligent Octopus is a fixed rate energy tariff with a discount period but instead of having 4 discount hours the new Octopus electric vehicle tariff, that is Intelligent Octopus offers 6 hours of off-peak charging. It doesn’t stop there!! By linking your electric vehicle or your EV charger to the Intelligence Octopus app you could get even more hours discounted to the off-peak rate.

The Intelligent Octopus app works out when energy is at the cheapest and greenest and if that’s outside your off-peak window it will ask your car to charge then BUT only charge you 7.5p per kWh! You will also retain your 6 off-peak hours so you can use appliances such as the dishwasher or washing machine at 7.5p per kWh too. How cool is that!

What’s the catch – 6 hours plus of electricity at 7.5p per kWh for charging your electric vehicle?🙋‍♀️

Well, there is a catch with the intelligent Octopus tariff. You will have to tick all the boxes to get on this new beta tariff but the list is expected to expand. You will need to be either a Tesla owner OR own a Wallbox Pulsar Plus charger. (I am working on a new EV charger website but I have already done a review on the Wallbox Pulsar Plus so feel free to take a look at the review) Plus you will need an iPhone! The Intelligence Octopus app is only available on IOS at the moment!!

The energy price cap is due to rise in April. Plus with Russia invading Ukraine energy prices are only going one way and that is up! The limited supply of gas from Russia is one of the reasons energy supply has jumped so greatly. It’s yet another reason why we need to increase our own homegrown green energy supply in the UK so we aren’t so reliant on other countries.🥺😢💚

There may be some validity in switching if you have a smart meter and want to sign up for one of the Octopus smart tariffs, like Octopus Go or Intelligent Octopus. (It’s still a really great tariff if you own an EV. Where else will you get 7.5p a kWh?) You can’t sign up for a smart tariff on the Octopus website. You’ll have to call and go on an interim fixed tariff first. Please read all the information below and take on advice given by Octopus. Let’s hope this all ends really soon!!💚🥺🤯

Existing Octopus Energy customers can also switch to the Intelligent tariff via the Octopus IOS app. This is the method I used to switch to the Intelligent tariff. I found it easier as you can complete the test charge within the signup process within the app.

Has the Intelligent Octopus increased in price?

Yes, due to the rise in whole energy prices on the 11th January 2022 the Intelligent Octopus off-peak rate increased from 5p to 7.5p per kWh. The daytime rate also increased on the 29th March 2022 to 35.04p per kWh and the standing charge increased from 24.86p to 47.88p per day.

If you are already on the Intelligent Octopus tariff your standard rate will not go up until your existing 12 months tariff period comes to an end. If you want to compare EV tariffs take a look at my other page.

How does Intelligent Octopus work?

Octopus Energy will connect to your car or charging equipment through the Octopus app. After completing the initial set up it’s all relatively straightforward.

Plug your EV in and tell the app when you need your EV next and the percentage of charge you require.
If you are all set to charge before 5 pm Octopus will tell you your charge schedule around 5 pm. This will appear in the Octopus app.
If you plug in after 5 pm a schedule will be created at this time.

The great thing about this tariff is that if Octopus decides to schedule your charge before the 11.30 pm off-peak time you will get these time slots at the off-peak rate of 7.5p per kWh too. The same rate is also applied to any other electricity used within the home during these times!👏

While your EV is plugged in Octopus will make sure you charge when electricity is at its cheapest, and greenest on the national grid.

You can bump start charging from the app if you need to charge during the day. (This will be at the standard electricity price rather than off-peak)

You will need;

A smart meter we can connect to (either a SMETS2 or Secure SMETS1)
A compatible EV charging system (currently, either Tesla or Wallbox Pulsar Plus)
An iOS smartphone

What are the benefits of the Intelligent Octopus tariff?

Reduce your overall energy bill. It is anticipated that you could around £100 compared to Octopus Go.
Decrease your environmental impact.
Make your home energy work smarter for you and the planet.🌍

During the 6 hours off-peak period not only can you get your washing machine or dishwasher on at a reduced rate but you can set your car to charge when it is going to use the least CO2 even if that is outside your 6-hour off-peak window! Plus you won’t pay any more than 7.5p per kWh!! Beep, beep!!!! 🚘🌍💚

Here’s a quote from 20th May 2022. You can check the most up-to-date rates for the Intelligent Octopus tariff on the Octopus website. Prices may vary slightly in different geographical locations.

Compare Intelligent Octopus Tariff
Electricity per kWh	35.04p
Discount 6 hours 23.30 to 05.30 🚘	7.5p 👀
Standing charge per day	47.88p

Does the electricity discounted rate end after my electric car is charged?

No, you get the full 6 hours of off-peak electricity at 7.5p per kWh every night regardless if you schedule a charge or not!

Is there an Octopus Intelligent Gas Tariff?

No, the Octopus Intelligent tariff is simply for your electricity but you can pick a standard Octopus gas Tariff to sit alongside your Intelligent electricity tariff. For example Super Green Gas and Octopus Intelligent Electricity.

Do I need to get all my family to switch their energy use to benefit from Octopus Intelligent?

In a recent survey by Ofgem, most electric vehicle owners stated that they hadn’t made any changes to how they use their electricity at home. The assumption seemed to be that to fully benefit from the switch to an intelligent tariff the whole household needs to modify their energy use. 🤯 With Octopus Intelligent this isn’t the case! Even if your kids don’t act that intelligently sometimes 😂

Energy Prices 20/05/2022
Octopus 12 month Fixed Tariff. (Electricity)	Intelligent Octopus Tariff. (Electricity)
41.8p per kWh	35.04p per kWh (05.30 - 00.30)
No off-peak.	7.5p per kWh off-peak. (23.30 - 05.30)
47.88p per day Standing Charge	47.88p per day Standing charge.
	🌟🎉🥁🚘 #winner

The numbers really speak for themselves. The Octopus Intelligent tariff is only slightly cheaper outside the off-peak tariff window than a standard fixed Octopus tariff rate but you can fill your boots during the 7.5p slot! 🎄🤶🏻

What if I want to plug in my car and just get it charged as quickly as possible?

Octopus has this under control too. You can schedule a Bump Charge through the Intelligent Octopus app, which will start the car charging immediately. For this, you will be charged the unit rate at the time. If it’s during your off-peak window you will be charged – 7.5p/kWh for Bump Charging or your local day unit rate outside of these hours.

How do you switch to Octopus Intelligent Tariff?

As a new customer, you’ll simply have to switch to Octopus Energy and select an interim tariff before making your switch to Octopus Intelligence. As a new customer, you have to sign up for a nonsmart tariff when you switch. It’s then a case of moving from your interim tariff to your chosen smart tariff, such as Intelligent Octopus.

Switch to Octopus Energy. (This usually takes around 17 days)
Octopus must be satisfied that they are receiving half-hourly readings from your smart meter. (This usually happens within 14 days but could take longer.
You can then switch to Intelligent Octopus once you have confirmed all your equipment is compatible. (This is a new beta tariff so it may be a little more tweaking)
You’ll need to download the Intelligent Octopus IOS app and register your car or charger.

You can check on your Octopus Energy dashboard to see if half-hourly readings are being received.

If you haven’t got a smart meter it’s a case of switching, requesting a smart meter, and waiting for an installation date to become available in your area. You’ll need a Secure SMETS1 (Secure is a brand name and it’s written on the front of the meter) or a SMETS2 smart meter to switch to any of the Octopus smart tariffs

Get a quote and find more information on signing up to Octopus Intelligent HERE.

How can I tell if I have a SMETS2 smart meter already?

Look out for ‘GUID’ or a Device ID which looks like this: AA-BB-CC-DD-EE-FF-00-GG-ZZ on the front of the meter. If you can see a number like this it is a good indication you have a SMETS2 meter

Take your first step towards cheaper EV charging.↓🚘🥳

Ready to make the switch? Simply pick your interim tariff and contact Octopus Energy to get your smart meter installed or checked. Following half-hourly meter readings, you will be ready to switch to Intelligent Octopus.

You’ll need to call Octopus Energy to make the switch as they stopped giving online quotes on the 28th of February 2022. Online quotes at the moment are suspended.

The prices below are correct as of 20th May 2022.

Energy cost.	Price per kWh
Electricity	41.8p per kWh.
Gas	11.82p per kWh
Electricity standing charge	47.88p per day.
Gas standing charge	27.22p per day.
12 Month fixed tariff.

Is there a specific Intelligent Octopus App?

No, when you switch to the Intelligent tariff you’ll be asked to run a test charge in the Octopus Energy IOS app. Once the test charge has been successfully completed you will see an extra icon at the bottom of the Octopus Energy app marked “devices”. From here you can set your charging requirements ie how much charge you need and by when. After 5 pm your charging schedule will be displayed on this page.

Tips I have picked up since switching to the Intelligent Tariff.

I have now switched to the Intelligent tariff. I haven’t been on the tariff very long but what I have learned is that you do need to tweak something to make sure everything works as expected.

Make sure you cancel ALL charging schedules both in your EV and your home charger.
Put your home charger is in dumb mode. On the MyEnergi Zappi, this is the Fast mode.
In your Tesla app pause charging once you have plugged in. Octopus will unpause the charge when your schedule starts. I found that my Tesla started charging as soon as I plugged in and even though Octopus says it should stop within 15 minutes I would prefer not to charge at all during peak times.
Once your charge is complete in the morning turn off smart charging within the Octopus app. You shouldn’t have to do this but there’s a glitch that keeps the car awake and causes the battery to drain more than it should. Just toggle off smart charging in the Octopus app when you have finished charging and turn it on when you plugin.
If you are not sure ask! Octopus has been very responsive on Twitter when I have raised questions about charging. Any problems have been resolved very quickly.

You can read my customer review of the Intelligent tariff and pick up tips in my recent blog post.

Where to find additional information.

Intelligent Octopus is advertised on the Octopus Energy website you will struggle to find information many reviews. This is because the tariff is so new and lots of existing customers have a great rate on Octopus go which they signed up to and fixed before the price rise. You will find some chat about it on EV forums. Octopus never stops thinking of ways to save customers money! Ready to switch to Octopus? You can email [email protected] or [email protected] for further information if you still have specific questions on the tariff.

There’s no getting around it switching to Intelligent Octopus does take a little more time than a standard tariff but its providing worthwhile.

Here’s what Octopus has to say.

Intelligent Octopus is a beta product. If you’re OK that some things may not work the first time, that installations and processes may take longer than we’d like, and that on occasion data issues with smart meters can take significant time to fix or prevent things from working at all, but that you’d like to work with us to make world-changing energy tariffs a reality, check this box so we know you’re on board. You will always be able to switch to one of our fairly priced standard tariffs at any time.

Will I get paid for exporting my solar energy with Intelligent Octopus?

No, the Octopus Energy website has recently been updated and states, ” At this point in Early Access, we can’t offer a Smart Export Guarantee with Intelligent Octopus.”

Why is the Intelligent tariff is a good alternative to Octopus Agile?

Over the last year, there has been a lot of Octopus customers jumping ship from the beloved Octopus Agile tariff to Octopus Go. Everyone enjoyed seeing the agile prices peak and drop throughout 2020 but the drops are now long gone in 2021. There were several periods of negative energy prices where customers were paid to charge their case BUT those days have been very few and far between in 2021. There are lots of reasons for the prices increases and Octopus has explained them well BUT for most customers money talks and with limited opportunity to use your EV as a side hustle for cheap energy its appeal this year is dwindling BUT there’s no getting away from the fact that it will have its day again!!

Why did I switch to the Intelligent Octopus tariff?

My own smart tariff was due to end in May 2022. I was on Octopus Go Faster. It took number crunching but I decided to switch to the Intelligent Octopus tariff. I wanted to secure the 30p peak rate and 7.5p off-peak rate before prices increase. There’s been no indication from Octopus that the Go or Go Faster tariffs will increase in price but at the moment with prices rising so dramatically there is no saying what will happen. So I wanted to lock in the current deal for 12 months.

Predictably on 29th March, the prices increased. The 30p peak rate is now 35.04p per kWh and the standing charge jumped to a whopping 47.88p per day. The off-peak rate is still the same. So I made the right decision switching early.

You can read my full blog post on why I switched and any tips I picked up on the Octopus Intelligent tariff in my recent blog post.

Is the Intelligent tariff any good and is it easy to switch to?

I think the Intelligent Octopus app is a great merging of both Octopus Go and Octopus Agile. You get the secure off-peak prices at 7.5p per kWh BUT you can also let Octopus do its thing and help you get that energy when it’s at its cleanest and greenest. Plus you obviously get 2 more hours of off-peak charging at 7.5p per kWh compared to Octopus Go.

I started my switch by going onto the Octopus IOS app. I am an existing Octopus customer and it was very easy to switch tariffs online. There was an option to switch to the Intelligent tariff within the app and it was relatively straightforward. I had to answer a few questions to indicate the EV I have and the home charger that I use. I was then directed to plug my Tesla in to conduct a test charger. After a few minutes, I was all ready to go.

The Octopus smart tariffs aren’t just off-peak prices they really want to make a difference and help us all use energy when there is less demand on the national grid. Well done Octopus. 💚🛼