The offer follows a large-scale power reduction event held during the solar eclipse on 12 August. According to Octopus Energy, 794,000 customers took part in that session, reducing demand while Britain lost around 1GW of solar generation during the evening peak.
How the Weekend Happy Hours Scheme Works
Customers must reduce their electricity use during two separate one-hour sessions from Monday to Friday to qualify for the weekend reward. In return, they receive one hour of free electricity to use during a choice of weekend time slots. Eligible households may also save their free electricity hours and use them later, although any accumulated hours must be used by 31 October, when the scheme ends.
Participation is limited to customers who meet several conditions. They must be members of Octoplus, pay by Direct Debit or use smart prepayment, have a working electricity smart meter and be enrolled in Saving Sessions.
According to Octopus Energy, customers can lower their use during Power Down periods by shifting routine activities such as running a washing machine, using a dishwasher or charging an electric vehicle to another time.
Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, Octopus Energy’s chief customer officer, said nearly a million customers had switched off during the eclipse event and received free electricity. She said the company was extending the idea through Weekend Happy Hours, with customers using less power for two hours during the week in exchange for one free hour at the weekend.
The initiative forms part of Octopus Energy’s broader Saving Sessions programme, which rewards customers for changing when they consume electricity. Saving Sessions now operate in two forms. Power Down sessions reward customers for using less electricity when demand is high, while Power Up sessions reward them for increasing consumption when more renewable electricity is available on the grid.
Why Octopus Is Asking Customers to Shift Demand
Saving Sessions are designed to help manage periods when electricity supply and demand are out of balance. During busy periods, additional fossil-fuel generation can be brought online to meet higher demand, while at other times renewable generation can exceed what the system can readily use.
According to Octopus Energy, Power Down sessions are run as part of the National Energy System Operator’s Demand Flexibility Service, which rewards customers for reducing consumption when the grid is under pressure.
Customers receive invitations by email for individual Saving Sessions and must opt in before taking part. A notification may also appear through the Octopus app or online account. Smart meter readings are then used to calculate how much electricity a household used compared with its normal level.
Rewards from standard Saving Sessions are issued as Octopoints and added to the customer’s Octoplus account after their usage has been assessed. The Weekend Happy Hours offer arrives as Cornwall Insight forecasts a further 4% rise in the energy price cap for the October-to-December period. The next quarterly cap is due to be announced on 26 August.
For Octopus customers who qualify, the scheme therefore links a short period of lower weekday consumption with a defined weekend reward, while using the same smart-meter data and opt-in system already employed by Saving Sessions.
