Octopus Energy customers can save £300 a year on bills as boss issues message

Octopus Energy customers could see a reduction of £300 annually on their bills, thanks to a £7,500 heating upgrade grant. This comes as energy bills are set to rise by another £21 or 1.2 percent.

The government has extended the Warm Homes Plan, which it claims will save energy customers up to £300 a year. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has revealed that 300,000 homes across the UK will each receive £7,500 to replace their boiler with a heat pump in 2025.

Planning regulations have been eased to expedite the installation of heat pumps, and more homes will be offered insulation as part of the scheme. The government asserts that a heat pump can reduce bills by as much as £100 a year, while insulation can cut another £200 off, costs covered by the scheme.

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It believes these changes will encourage more households to install heat pumps. The statement read: "Households install an air source heat pump without needing to submit a planning application in England – removing the 1m rule, with figures from Octopus showing 34% of those who order a heat pump are discouraged or drop out for reasons attributed to planning permission.

"Working alongside the government's mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower, the Warm Homes Plan will ensure millions more households benefit from homegrown energy delivered by every new turbine, solar panel or pylon built on the path to energy independence," reports the Express.

"This includes boosting the budget for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to support more households switch to a heat pump – which can save families around £100 a year compared to a gas boiler by using a smart tariff effectively, and insulating more homes across the country – potentially saving homeowners around £200 per year."

On its website, Octopus' price comparison reveals that households will save on average £300 a year with its Octopus Cosy heat pump tariff against using a traditional boiler on Flexible Octopus, coming in at £1,391 annually instead of £1,691. Octopus Energy's chief executive Greg Jackson, said: "More than a third of customers who order a heat pump drop out because of planning issues, leaving them stuck with dirty, inefficient gas boilers. Removing outdated and unnecessary red tape is an urgent priority to grow this sector and get low cost, safe, clean heating technology into British homes."