Octopus Saving Sessions are short events where Octopus pays you to shift when you use electricity. If you can avoid using power for an hour or two on a busy winter evening, you earn money off your bill. And on the flip side, when there’s lots of wind and sun on the grid, Octopus runs sessions where some or all of the electricity you use is free.
You don’t need a special tariff. You don’t have to commit to anything. You just have to be an Octopus customer with a smart meter, sign up to Octoplus, and opt in to each session you want to take part in.
This page covers how it all works in plain English, what a realistic winter looks like in terms of earnings, and the bits new customers usually want explained.
The basic idea of Saving Sessions
The UK grid has busy times and quiet times. On a cold, still evening in January, everyone gets home from work, switches on the heating, puts dinner on, and runs the washing machine all at once. Demand spikes. To keep the lights on, the grid has to fire up expensive gas-powered backup plants.
Octopus’s pitch is simple: instead of paying gas plants to turn on, pay households a small amount to switch things off. That’s a Power Down session. You use less electricity during the busy window, and Octopus rewards you with Octopoints (the in-house currency, worth £1 per 800 points, redeemable as bill credit).
The opposite happens too. On windy days or sunny afternoons, there’s sometimes more renewable electricity on the grid than the country can use. Rather than waste it, Octopus runs a Power Up session, where you’re invited to use more during the window. Some or all of that electricity is free.
Both types are called Saving Sessions. Both sit inside the [Internal link: Octoplus] rewards programme, which is free to join.
What it actually looks like to take part in Saving Sessions
It’s worth walking through what a session feels like in practice, because the description always makes it sound more complicated than it is.
You get a notification. Usually the day before, sometimes a few hours before. It comes by email and, if you’ve got the app, a push notification. The message tells you the date, time and whether it’s a Power Down or a Power Up.
You tap to opt in. This is the bit people miss. You have to confirm each session before it starts. Just being signed up to Octoplus isn’t enough. If you don’t opt in, you don’t earn anything from that session even if you happened to use less power.
The session runs. For a Power Down, it’ll usually be one or two hours in the 4pm to 7pm window. For a Power Up, often midday. During that window you either use less than normal (Power Down) or use more than usual (Power Up).
Octopus reads your smart meter. A few weeks later, your earnings land in your Octoplus account. For Power Downs that’s Octopoints, which you can convert to bill credit any time. For Power Ups it’s straight bill credit for the free electricity you used.
That’s the whole thing. Notification, opt in, change your behaviour for an hour or two, earn a little money.
How earnings are worked out
This is the part new customers most often get wrong, so it’s worth explaining clearly.
For Power Down sessions, Octopus needs to know how much electricity you would have used during the session window if it wasn’t happening. That’s your baseline. They work it out by looking at your smart meter readings from the last week or two on similar days at similar times of day. So if Octopus knows you typically use 1.5 kWh between 4pm and 7pm on weekday evenings, that becomes your baseline for a session running in that slot.
During the session, they measure how much you actually used. The difference between your baseline and your real usage is what you earn on. Use 0.5 kWh instead of 1.5 kWh, and you’ve saved 1 kWh. You get Octopoints for that 1 kWh.
Two things follow from this that catch people out:
The more you normally use, the more room you have to save. A small flat that uses very little electricity in the early evening anyway has a low baseline, so there’s not much to cut. A bigger household running the oven, dishwasher and tumble dryer at 5pm every night has a high baseline and plenty of room to shift things later.
Your baseline adapts over time. If you do every session and consistently use less in the evenings, Octopus eventually treats that lower usage as your new normal. The first session of the winter often pays more than the tenth, because by then your baseline has drifted down to match your new behaviour.
Octopus has published an average of around 800 to 1,000 Octopoints per session per household, which works out to roughly £1 to £1.25 per session. Some pay more, some pay less. It depends on how much you cut and what Octopus is being paid for that particular session.
Power Up sessions don’t use a baseline. You’re not being measured against your normal usage. You just get free or cheap electricity for whatever you use during the window, credited back to your account.
Who can take part in Saving Sessions
To join Saving Sessions, you need:
- An Octopus Energy electricity account
- A working electric smart meter that sends half-hourly readings
- To pay by Direct Debit or smart prepay
- To be signed up to Octoplus
Any standard or smart Octopus tariff works. You don’t need to switch to take part. Gas-only customers can’t join because there’s no electricity smart meter to read.
The most common blocker is a smart meter that’s been installed but isn’t communicating properly. If you’re not sure whether yours is working, check whether you can see daily readings in your Octopus account. No readings means no Saving Sessions. [Internal link: Smart Meters Explained] covers what to do about it.
Ways to earn more from a session
For a Power Down session, the trick is shifting your biggest electricity users out of the window. The ones that matter:
- Tumble dryer, washing machine, dishwasher
- Oven cooking (cook earlier, or have something cold)
- EV charging (wait until after 7pm)
- Pre-heat the house before 4pm if you have a heat pump or storage heaters, then let it coast through the session
You don’t have to sit in the dark. Lighting and small electronics make almost no difference. It’s the big appliances that move the needle.
For a Power Up session, do the opposite. Stack the dishwasher, run the washing, charge the EV, top up the home battery. Anything you’d normally have done later in the day, bring forward into the free window.
Is it worth it?
Honestly? It depends on what you expect.
If you treat Saving Sessions as a small bonus that adds up across a winter, yes. A reasonably engaged household doing most Power Downs and shifting load meaningfully can pick up tens of pounds across the November to March window, sometimes more. Free electricity from Power Ups adds to that, depending on how much you can actually use during the windows.
If you sign up expecting it to transform your bill, no. It’s pocket money, not a tariff. A household that opts in but doesn’t actually change behaviour earns very little, because their usage matches their baseline.
Customers already on smart tariffs like [Internal link: Octopus Agile], [Internal link: Cosy Octopus] or [Internal link: Intelligent Octopus Go] often find Power Downs less lucrative than expected. Those tariffs already encourage you to avoid peak times, so your baseline is already low. The scheme rewards the change, not the absolute saving.
Saving Sessions are a nice bonus on top of being an Octopus customer. Pick the right tariff for your home first, then enjoy Saving Sessions as the extra they are.
Saving Sessions at a glance
| Power Down | Power Up | |
|---|---|---|
| What you do | Use less electricity | Use more electricity |
| When | Cold, still winter evenings | Windy or sunny days |
| Time of day | Usually 4pm–7pm | Often around midday |
| Reward | Octopoints (800 = £1) | Free or cheap electricity |
| Measured against | Your recent baseline | No baseline |
| Notice given | Usually about a day | Usually about a day |
A quick note on local Power-ups
There’s one bit of name overlap that confuses new customers. As well as Power Up Saving Sessions (which are national), Octopus runs something called local Power-ups for customers in certain postcodes, mostly in the East and Midlands plus parts of Scotland. These are separate events run with local grid network operators, and they reward you for shifting electricity use to help your local area rather than the country as a whole.
If you live in an eligible postcode, you’ll be invited to local Power-ups separately. They sit alongside Saving Sessions rather than replacing them. Octopus has said it plans to simplify all this over time, but for now they run in parallel.
How to sign up
Sign up through the Octopus Energy app or your online account, in the Octoplus tab. Turn on push notifications too — sessions are time-sensitive and email alone is easy to miss, especially when the notice is short. Remember you need to opt in to each session individually, not just to Saving Sessions overall.
FAQ
What are Octopus Saving Sessions?
Saving Sessions are short events where Octopus pays you to shift when you use electricity. Power Down sessions reward you for using less during busy times. Power Up sessions give you free or cheap electricity when there’s lots of renewable power on the grid.
How much can I earn?
For Power Down sessions, Octopus has published an average of around 800 to 1,000 Octopoints per session per household, which is roughly £1 to £1.25. A typical winter for an engaged household tends to add up to tens of pounds. Power Up sessions vary based on how much electricity you can shift into the free window.
Do I need a smart meter?
Yes. You need a working electric smart meter sending half-hourly readings. Without it, Octopus can’t measure what you’ve saved.
Do I need to opt in to each session?
Yes. Being signed up to Octoplus puts you on the invite list, but you have to tap opt in for each session before it starts. Opting in afterwards doesn’t count.
What time do sessions usually run?
Power Downs are usually in the 4pm to 7pm window on weekdays, lasting one or two hours. Power Ups tend to run around the middle of the day when renewable generation is highest.
How are Octopoints converted to bill credit?
800 Octopoints equals £1. You can convert them in the Octoplus tab of the app or online account, and the credit goes straight onto your balance.
Can I take part on any tariff?
Yes. Saving Sessions work with any standard or smart Octopus electricity tariff. You don’t need to switch to take part.
What if I’m on an EV tariff like Intelligent Octopus Go?
You can still take part, but your Power Down earnings will often be lower. Smart EV tariffs already shift your usage away from peak times, so your baseline is already low and there’s less to save. Power Up sessions can work well alongside them if you can divert EV charging into the free window.
Why did my earnings drop after a few sessions?
Your baseline updates over time. The more consistently you cut your evening usage, the more Octopus treats that lower usage as your new normal. Later sessions often pay less than the first one or two for this reason.
Can business customers take part?
Yes. Octopus business customers with eligible smart meter setups can join through the same Octoplus signup.
Are Power Up sessions the same as Free Electricity Sessions?
Effectively yes. Power Up is the new name for what Octopus previously called Free Electricity Sessions. The mechanic is identical — free or cheap electricity during a renewable surplus window. You’ll still see the old name in some places while the rebrand finishes.
What’s the difference between Power Up Saving Sessions and local Power-ups?
Power Up Saving Sessions are national events open to all Octoplus members. Local Power-ups are postcode-restricted events run with regional grid operators, mainly in the East and Midlands plus parts of Scotland. They’re separate, with separate invites.