Powering Populate Snippets!
Essential information for handling Emergencies related queries and technical suppor.
Comprehensive EMT guidelines and snippets are currently being compiled. Check back soon for updates!
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Our obligation as a supplier is to:
We do this by:
OFGEM rules state that we are not allowed to seek additional payment for unbilled or rebilled energy used more than 12 months ago. So if we don't meet our obligations, we have to start writing off charges.
This means that if we breach any of our obligations, we can charge the customer as long as it doesn't put them into debt/further into debt. If they go into debit, we're essentially asking for them to make payments on top of what they've already paid, i.e. we're seeking additional payments.
If we tell a customer "you should pay £80/month" and 13 months later we've never sent a bill. On that 13th month, if we bill them and they're still in credit or at £0, great! We were right! No need to write off charges.
However, if we bill on that 13th month, and they go into debit, we were wrong:
We didn't do enough to protect the customer from this so we need to start writing off charges.
Customer not billed for over a year
This includes consumption gaps we have filled where the charging period is over a year ago.
Rebilled for over a year period
The customer is now worse off as the new charges are higher than the old charges.
Underestimating usage for over a year
They submit a reading and have now received a high charge.
No payment adequacy review in over a year
The customer is in debt as a result.
Customer is in credit
Rebilled - same or lower charges
The new charges are the same or less than the old charges.
Overestimating their usage
Customer prevented meter reading
The customer has prevented us from obtaining a meter reading.
Please note: Billing queries should be passed onto the business team either on the business_operations slack channel or by emailing business@octopus.energy.
Business bills are usually sent out in the first 10 working days of the month. A good chunk of the business bills are manually reviewed by the business team before we issue them. This is in case Kraken has picked up a potential discrepancy (i.e. potential incorrect meter readings, significant high charge etc).
Billing for all business accounts is currently set for the 1st of the month. Kraken will look for a reading in the last 5 days on each account and will use that reading to bill to.
For business customers, we issue invoices & credit notes whereas domestic customers are issued statements. The main differences are that invoices are produced on a monthly basis and that credits and charges need to be issued out on separate documents.
The structure of an invoice is very similar to a statement. It shows relevant account number & tariff information as well as a breakdown of the charges for this period, how they were calculated and a running account balance.
The invoice tab will only show on business accounts. The initial part of billing works the exact same way as domestic where we can un-bill and re-bill readings!
However, once this is done there are a few additional steps we need to take to ensure the charges/credits are issued out to the customer.
Once we have finished billing on (Re)bill readings the charges and credits will show on the left side of the invoices tab under 'Uninvoiced charges & credits'. This means the charges/credits have been created but they have not yet been added to a document.
Next we need to tick the box next to each charge or credit and then press 'Actions' to add them to an Invoice or Credit Note. We should not be adding charges and credits to the same document. All charges should be + Add to new invoice and all credits should be + Add to new credit note. Following this they will show under 'Unissued invoices'. This means the Invoice or Credit Note has now been generated but not yet issued to the customer.
Finally we need to click 'Preview', this will take you to the Invoice/Credit Note where you can then select 'Issue to customer'. After this if you reload the page the document will now show on the right hand side. The date on the left side is the date the invoice was issued. The right side shows the total amount of the invoice, and in the middle are the details of the charge including dates of consumption.
All Business Customers should be on a Variable Direct Debit schedule. After issuing any invoices we should always check the Payments tab to make sure that the correct amount has been scheduled. If the invoice is over £3000 we will need to manually approve the payment and if we are doing any rebilling we may need to delete/change payment amounts.
A final bill is sent when a customer leaves our supply or moves out of their property and provides us with final meter readings. Kraken should automatically mark these bills as "final" so that they are easy to spot.
If we have not received a final reading, Kraken will automatically estimate the final read.
⚠️ REMEMBER: Any final balance refunds given based on estimated final reads may need to be paid back by the customer when the actual read/CoS is received. In these instances, we send a corrected final bill and either request or return any monies owed.
Kraken will automatically generate the final balance settlement once we have generated the final bill - this will be a refund if the account is in credit or a charge if the account is in debit.
If you are manually final billing an account, always check if the final balance settlement has been generated automatically. If it hasn't then you will need to request this. Always check for gaps or minus charges to ensure the refund is correct first.
If a customer gets in contact to say they want to set up a payment plan, we can do this by setting the whole DD amount to be "debt repayment element". This will stop Kraken requesting the whole amount.
The main reason a final bill would not be generated would be if Kraken is missing a final or confirmed change of supplier (CoS) reading.
For a traditional meter, when we haven't received a confirmed CoS reading for over 30 days, we can dispute.
Opening this dispute will send a request to the new supplier to send over the reading they are using as their opening reading.
If an initial D0010 has been sent, there will be a "play" button with the reading on the meter readings events. However, if we have not received a D0086 after more than 10 working days of sending this D0010, this will need chasing with the DC via email. For a smart meter, we can send a D0010 to our DC and they can issue the D0086.
Migration happens as a result of a system migration, acquisition or SOLR (such as Avro and Bulb).
We migrate all the customer details and as much old billing information as possible over to Kraken.
The first statement in Kraken should always be billed from the transfer reading. The transfer reading is the last meter reading "billed to" by the old supplier on the old billing system.
The bills the customer received on the old billing system or from their old supplier can be found in Kraken as "historical bills".
CoS reads are less important, instead we always bill from the transfer reading.
Where an account has moved from an old billing system to Kraken. Accounts will migrate with more or less information depending on the reason they have been migrated.
You will be able to see that an account has migrated from the 'Account Details' tab on the customer's Kraken account.
This is the first bill after migration.
To bill a migrated account like this you must bill from the transfer readings, not the confirmed change of supplier readings.
The transfer reading is the final reading on the final bill from the old system. If it's an acquisition or SOLR it would also be the final bill under the old brand name.
We should bill from this read and not the OMR (COS reading) on these accounts. Billing from the COS read will very likely cause billing gaps or double billing on these accounts.
⚠️ IMPORTANT: If there is an issue with the transfer reading (e.g. it's too high/too low/there was an unrecorded COT before this) please raise this to your billing pro. Billing pros have access to a tool to adjust what reading we use as the transfer read and amend the billing alongside this.
A key feature of these accounts is the 'View historical bills tab' that can be found under 'Actions' in the 'Statements' tab.
This account is an acquisition account so we are able to see their historical bills using this tab.
Always check that the transfer readings match the final reading on the customer's final historical bill.
If the readings are not the same, edit the transfer readings on Kraken to match the final bill.
Note: Historical bills are not always in the correct order.
The majority of accounts do have transfer readings but in cases where they do not the first step would be to check with the customer.
If the customer has their last bill from before migration we can add the final readings off this bill into Kraken and bill them to an up to date meter reading.
If the account only has a debit with no other information, then this is a shell account that we are using to chase the debit on the account. Therefore, there is no need for us to bill these accounts.
If any of this is over 1 year old, see the article on backbilling.
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Information and guidance for customers with smart prepayment meters.
Comprehensive smart prepay meter guidelines and snippets are currently being compiled. Check back soon for updates!
Information and guidance for customers with traditional prepayment meters.
Comprehensive traditional prepay meter guidelines and snippets are currently being compiled. Check back soon for updates!
Please select "Pre-payment" in the form for this tab.
Our Intelligent Octopus products are our latest family of smart tariffs, they are products that are designed to optimise low carbon technologies (LCT) in order to shift consumption to low-cost, green periods of the day.
For EVs & Chargers
For Home Batteries
Our Intelligent Octopus products help customers reduce their electricity bills, by shifting their consumption to periods of the day that are greener and therefore cheaper. This provides customers with lower energy costs and smart device automation.
By controlling customers' devices, we can help to 'balance the grid' - a key strategy for Octopus Energy and referred to as 'Energy Flexibility'.
Flexibility is an increasingly crucial tool used to manage the peaks and troughs that we see within the energy grid, and will continue to be vitally important as we head towards a Net Zero future.
Importantly: Using energy 'flexibly' will help reduce bills for everyone, not just customers with LCTs.
Intelligent Octopus Go (IO Go) is an innovative product that we offer, designed to optimise charging for electric vehicle (EV) owners.
Intelligent Octopus Go (IO Go) is a smart tariff for customers with an EV that they charge at home.
Customers connect their device (either their EV or charger) to our system through the Octopus Energy app, we then optimise their charging to ensure that we're charging at periods that are greener & cheaper. We refer to these periods of charging as 'smart charging'. These periods of smart charging will always be on the off-peak rate.
This smart charges are set as schedules determined by us during the cheapest times of day - normally (but not always) during the off peak window (23:30-05:30).
This results in lower energy costs for the customer, hands free optimisation and unlocks energy flexibility that benefits the grid.
A customer will require an eligible EV or charger and a smart meter that is providing half hourly readings.
Customers can take advantage of lower electricity rates during off-peak hours, leading to reductions in their energy bills.
Kraken allows for automated scheduling and optimisation of energy use, minimising manual intervention.
By shifting EV energy consumption, IO Go supports the use of renewable energy and helps balance the demand on the electricity grid.
IO Go is a product with two periods: a peak and an off-peak period, between 23:30 and 05:30.
There are both variable and fixed versions of IO Go. There is a £25 exit fee for the fixed version.
Customers can check the rates on the IO Go webpage.
The peak rates and standing charge vary by GSP, but the off-peak rate remains consistent across each area - it is currently 7p / kWh.
In addition to any usage during the off-peak period being billed at off-peak rates, any smart charging will also be billed at off-peak rates at any time of the day.
Example: If we create a schedule that has a period of smart charging between 7 pm and 7:30 pm, usage during this half-hour slot will be billed at off-peak rates.
If customers 'bump charge' outside of a smart charging schedule, they may be billed at peak rates (depending on the time of day). Please see the matrix below for a breakdown of the rates:
Once a customer has connected their device, we'll be able to control the charging - their device information will appear in Kraken under the 'Devices' tab.
In the Octopus Energy app, a customer will set their charging preferences - this will include:
Once a customer plugs in, we then create an optimised charging plan based on their preferences and grid price signals. This is called 'smart charging'.
If a customer wishes to add charge to their vehicle outside of their charge schedule, they can 'bump' charge - this option is available to them within the app.
⚠️ Important: Bump charging during peak hours (05:30 - 23:30) will be billed at peak rates. Only bump charging during off-peak hours (23:30 - 05:30) is billed at off-peak rates.
To use Intelligent Octopus Go, customers need:
An eligible EV or home charger (check eligibility page)
A smart meter providing half-hourly readings
Connection through the Octopus Energy mobile app
Intelligent Octopus Flux is a smart import and export tariff setup for customers who have solar panels and a GivEnergy, Solaredge, Enphase or Tesla Powerwall inverter (battery).
Customers connect their battery to our system through the Octopus Energy app, and we optimise their device to ensure that we're charging and discharging at periods that are greener & cheaper. We refer to these periods of charging as 'smart charging'.
Intelligent Octopus Flux is a two-rate smart time of use tariff.
When we choose to control their battery, we will charge it during the day when rates are low, and discharge in the evening when rates are high.
This means the customer will make a profit on any energy imported during the day that we then export in the evening.
Customers can take advantage of lower electricity rates during off-peak hours and higher electricity rates in peak hours, leading to reductions in their energy bills.
Kraken allows for automated scheduling and optimisation of energy use, minimising manual intervention.
By shifting energy consumption, IO Flux supports the use of renewable energy and helps balance the demand on the electricity grid.
IO Flux is a variable product with two symmetrical rates for both Import and Export.
Customers can check their rates on the Flux webpage.
We target the best times within this period to discharge the battery to help the grid. This will be used by anything in the home first, and anything extra will be exported to the grid. This means they will benefit from a high export rate, whereas the import rate will also be high.
Customers will benefit from a low import rate to charge up their battery and also for their home energy, where the export rate will also be low.
Important: Intelligent Octopus Flux is a variable tariff, which means that the price you pay can rise and fall with the cost of wholesale energy.
The battery charging is split into 3 parts:
The battery charging follows a pattern throughout the 24-hour period:
The system intelligently balances battery state of charge (SoC) with the unit rates throughout the day, ensuring optimal savings and grid support.
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Business customer support and guidelines.
Comprehensive SME guidelines and snippets are currently being compiled. Check back soon for updates!
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When assisting a customer in debt, it's essential to recognise the potential impact on their mental health. Studies consistently reveal a strong correlation between financial difficulties and mental health challenges.
Financial Difficulty causes stress and anxiety, worsened by collections activity or inability to buy essentials.
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Mental Health Problems develop or worsen.
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Poor mental health can make it harder to earn, manage money and spending and to ask for help.
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This perpetuates the cycle of Financial Difficulty.
When discussing debt it's important to check for any vulnerabilities in the household. Sometimes customers will share without prompting, but we should always ask to make sure we're fully aware of their circumstances.
Adding them to the PSR means they don't have to disclose their vulnerabilities to each person they speak to.
They will also not have to inform a new energy supplier or other utilities, as the register is shared.
When speaking to customers, bringing up the PSR in a phone conversation doesn't have to be awkward or very personal. It may put the customer at ease to know that it's something we ask all customers.
"While I have you on the phone, I'd like to ask if there's anyone in the household who may be eligible for the priority services register, do you mind if I ask a few questions?"
Make sure what you are sending is relevant and suitable for them - don't want to overload them with options as this can be overwhelming.
Free, confidential debt advice
Free debt advice charity
Free, independent advice
Free financial guidance
Support for mental health & finances
Grants and benefits calculator
Money saving tips and guides
Government cost of living support
Be open and honest about the debit balance on their account.
Allowing customers to remain in debt is not helping them.
Work with the customer to establish the best solution for them and their affordability. Set up a payment they can afford and ask them to complete a Paylink. Provide advice and information about available internal and external support.
Approach conversations with empathy, understand the customer's circumstances and emotions regarding their financial situation.
The conversation should be solution focussed, motivating customers to take positive action.
Big debts can be managed with small steps, such as paying slightly more than what you use.
Encourage the customer to think long term to ensure they stay on track.
Encourage Direct Debit when suitable. This method alleviates the need for manual payment reminders. They will also benefit from a cheaper tariff!
If a customer genuinely cannot afford their bills, encourage them to complete a Paylink and seek external help.
This can contribute to the fear and anxiety that may lead customers to avoid confronting the issue.
This can lead to the customer avoid dealing with the situation, believing it's not an issue.
Payment reminders (Dunning) and involving DCAs are not negative actions; they are efforts aimed at helping our customers engage with us.
If a customer hasn't paid they will move along our collections process to stop them building up further debt. We should only recall them if there's been an error or an extreme disclosure. Eg. they've moved out and provided proof of this or are extremely vulnerable
Some customers will explicitly ask for help, however some customers are less forward. Here are some verbal signs of affordability and vulnerability to look out for:
Sometimes knowing what to say is tricky, see some example responses to customers below:
Financial struggles can take a toll on a customer's overall well-being, causing stress, anxiety, and potentially affecting their mental and physical health.
Providing support during challenging times contributes to octopus' outrageously good customer service, enhancing loyalty and trust in our commitment to their well-being.
Addressing financial challenges early can prevent customers' accounts moving further along the collections process.
Helping customers regain control of their bills promotes financial stability. This not only benefits the customer but the stability of the overall customer base, reducing the amount of unrecoverable debt.
We have an obligation to assist customers facing financial challenges.
Important Note: Although we offer fantastic short term help such as standing charge holidays, they do not prevent the customer building up more debt nor tackle the root cause. So we must ensure we focus on the long term.
In order to do what's best for the customer, we should review the account checks on Kraken, to ensure that there are no account errors. Ideally, the customer's account checks should have a green tick beside each item.
If there are any errors on the account, then we should correct these, as this will likely cause issues on the account and for the customer at a later date. We must ensure we are taking care of our customers in the long term too.
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Our export tariffs are for customers with generation hardware (usually solar panels) who want to sell us their spare energy. We then pay them for what they export back to the grid.
Put simply, it means that if a customer has an eligible export technology we'll buy the energy they export, sell it to the grid, and give you the money we make on your behalf.
We measure the flow of energy using their smart or AMR meter. We record how much they import for energy they consume and how much they export for energy they send to the grid.
An export tariff is a special tariff designed to credit those with technology capable of feeding energy back to the grid with money.
This includes things like solar panels, home batteries, wind turbines, etc.
To pay a customer with export credit, they need an MPAN enrolled capable of measuring the energy they export. This is called an Export MPAN.
The Export MPAN measures reactive energy on the smart meters export register.
The export register is on their main smart or AMR meter, just like their main import smart reading.
This means we track consumption readings separate to export ones. We take both measurements from the smart meter and bill (or credit) the account based on each.
The export register is normally found by pressing a few buttons on the smart meter.
⚠️ CRITICAL: Please never enrol an Export MPAN yourself, this needs to be carried out by an Export Specialist (or Smart Product team).
An export tariff will be on the Export MPAN.
Customers signup for their export tariff of choice on our website:
We link the Export MPAN to the Import MPAN by 'configuring export'.
This means the Export MPAN is also able to pull readings off the export register automatically just like the Import MPAN is pulling readings off the Import register.
If it has been linked you will see smart meter details on the 'Properties' tab under the Export MPAN.
Please select "Export" in the form for this tab.