Daily Express, on Climate, 9 November 2026

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Octopus Energy

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Octopus Energy hands free electricity ‘all winter’ to households with smart meters Eligible customers will be rewarded with free power this winter. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Add us as preferred source Comments By Claire Schofield 11:18, Mon, Nov 9, 2026 Updated: 11:21, Mon, Nov 9, 2026 Octopus Energy has extended its free electricity scheme until February 14, 2027 (Image: Getty) Octopus Energy is handing free electricity “all winter” to millions of UK households with smart meters after extending its popular weekend scheme.

The major energy supplier , which serves around eight million homes in the UK, is extending its ‘Happy Hours’ free electricity scheme right through until Valentine’s Day, meaning eligible customers can benefit from throughout the entire winter season . The scheme rewards eligible customers with free power on the weekend if they use less power during two one-hour sessions in the week. Octopus said nearly 800,000 households took part in the scheme when it launched during this summer’s eclipse and since then, it has handed out more than eight million hours of free power to households , worth over £1.7 million.

The scheme works by giving households a token every time they successfully take part in a weekday Saving Session, which involves using less power during weekday tea times. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT These tokens can then be exchanged for free energy hours over the weekend, typically at a ratio of two tokens per free hour. Households will be given free power at a set time and will have a few different Happy Hour slots to choose from, but this will generally be on a Sunday in the middle of the day.

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You can unsubscribe at any time. More Info . But the supplier is giving the scheme an upgrade to now also offer Saturday sessions and more flexibility, meaning customers can look for Saturday booking windows outside the usual 11am to 3pm slot. Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, Chief Customer Officer at Octopus Energy, commented: "Our customers spoke, and we listened. The response to our Happy Hours has been phenomenal, so extending them through the cold winter months was a no-brainer.

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT “Whether you're roasting a Sunday lunch, carving Halloween pumpkins, or powering up Christmas lights, we’re keeping the green energy flowing and helping households keep their bills down." Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Households can take part in the Happy Hours scheme if they have a working smart electricity meter and pay by Direct Debit or in advance. You must also be a member of Octopus’ free Octoplus rewards programme and be signed up to Saving Sessions.

HMRC confirms tax charges for pensioners over 75 Anyone over 65 urged to make heating change for winter Customers will earn one token for every successful Saving Session during the week. Typically, two tokens will unlock a free hour of electricity at the weekend. Customers can then choose from a selection of one hour slots on the weekend for their Happy Hour, or alternatively, can opt to save their free electricity hours and use them at a later date, up until February 14, 2027.

To keep free power viable over winter, Octopus said token requirements will change flexibly depending on wholesale market conditions, and as a last resort some weekends may not have a dedicated Happy Hour, but in those cases tokens will always rollover. Octopus Energy Smart meter Electricity Energy bills Money saving Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Add us as preferred source Comments

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What we found (1)

The Express headline says Octopus Energy hands free electricity 'all winter' to households with smart meters. The body shows something narrower: one-hour weekend slots earned by cutting use in weekday sessions, open only to Octopus customers who meet several conditions, with some weekends possibly having no slot at all. The rest of the article explains the scheme's terms accurately.

  1. Headline goes beyond the article

    Minor

    “hands free electricity ‘all winter’ to households with smart meters”

    Why this matters
    The words "hands free electricity ‘all winter’ to households with smart meters" present free power as a gift that runs for the whole winter to anyone with a smart meter. They put "all winter" in quotation marks, but no one in the article says those words.
    The impression it gives
    A reader believes that households with smart meters will get free electricity throughout the winter simply for having the meter.
    The context
    The body describes a reward scheme. Customers earn tokens by using less power during weekday Saving Sessions, and two tokens buy one free hour at the weekend. Only Octopus customers who pay by Direct Debit or in advance, belong to Octoplus and sign up to Saving Sessions can take part. Octopus also says some weekends may have no Happy Hour at all. The only quoted words on timing are the executive's "through the cold winter months", which refers to extending the scheme, not to free power all winter.

    How we know

    • Elsewhere in the article“rewards eligible customers with free power on the weekend if they use less power during two one-hour sessions in the week”
    • Elsewhere in the article“be signed up to Saving Sessions”
    • Elsewhere in the article“as a last resort some weekends may not have a dedicated Happy Hour”
    • Elsewhere in the article“extending them through the cold winter months was a no-brainer”

    Show it in the article

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