Octopus Energy customers offered £300 off bills as boss issues message | Personal Finance | Finance

Octopus Energy customers will be able to benefit from £300 a year off their bills thanks to a £7,500 heating upgrade grant.

Just as energy bills are set to increase again by another £21 or 1.2 percent, the government has announced an extended Warm Homes Plan, which it says will save energy customers up to £300 a year.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has announced that 300,000 homes across the UK will be handed £7,500 each to ditch their boiler and install a heat pump in 2025.

Planning regulations have also been relaxed to allow heat pumps to be installed more quickly, while insulation will also be offered to more homes as part of the scheme.

The government says a heat pump saves customers as much as £100 a year off bills, while insulation can slash another £200 off, the costs of which are covered by the scheme.

It claimed the changes will make it more likely that more households will be able to install heat pumps.

It said: “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.

“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 shows households will save £300 a year on average on its Octopus Cosy heat pump tariff against using a traditional boiler on Flexible Octopus, at £1,391 per year instead of £1,691.

Greg Jackson, CEO, Octopus Energy, 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 Removing outdated and unnecessary red tape is an urgent priority to grow this sector and get low cost, safe, clean heating technology into British homes.”

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