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Two homeowners have shared how they’re getting to enjoy more money in their wallet thanks to a new zero energy bills scheme cutting their monthly bills to £0. Octopus Energy’s radical tariff promises customers will pay nothing for their electricity, guaranteed for at least a decade.
It is being run in tandem with housing developers and sees homes built with and powered by renewable energy items like solar panels and a heat pump, qualify for the Octopus Zero Bills scheme. Mark Puddicombe, 51, bought his eco-friendly four-bedroom house that is part of the tariff in the autumn of 2023 and said “this is how homes ought to be built”. He told the Express: “It’s great, it’s exactly as you’d expect.
“I literally get a bill every month from Octopus that says ‘your bill last month, your balance was nil and your bill for this month is nil’ so that works quite well.”
A confessed gadget-lover, Mr Puddicombe said he was looking to buy an eco-property after moving out of his previous Edwardian-era home.
He said his new electric-powered home on the outskirts of Exeter in Devon is “just the sort” he wanted and recommends the scheme to others.
The detached property, which was bought for £595,000 from a housing developer, is packed full of eco-friendly kit like solar panels, triple glazing and clever ventilation systems.
He said: “I’m a building surveyor by trade myself, so it’s all stuff that interests me that I do anyway.”
He added: “It’s quite a modern design. I don’t design new buildings but if I did, I’d like to think I’d design something like this.”
Octopus says it wants to build 100,000 new Zero Bills homes by 2030 in partnership with house builders.
Another person enjoying the scheme is John, 63, who moved into his four-bedroom Zero Bills home in Falmouth, Cornwall, from Oxfordshire nearly two years ago.
He estimates he is going to be saving between £2,500 and £3,000 on electricity per year.
John, who is semi-retired, said he became aware of the scheme through the developer.
He said he felt buying an eco-home was the “right thing to do” and that being better off financially was an added bonus.
John said “yes” when asked whether he’d recommend the Zero Bills scheme to others and added: “It hasn’t been a life-changer for us but it’s nice not having to pay for your electricity and be worried about bills going up, certainly a couple of years ago when obviously things were going all crazy.
“It’s nice to know that for possibly the next 10 years that’s all secure.”
“It’s one bill you don’t have to worry about, right? And it’s the biggest one,” he continued.
Octopus said it is working with local authorities, buy-to-rent providers, housing associations and developers across the UK “to make Zero Bills the new standard for everyone”.
The energy supplier said: “Homes that are fully powered by green tech — solar panels, heat pumps, and batteries — with zero home energy bills. It isn’t some far-fetched dream, it’s happening today. And we’re leading the charge.”
As well as new homes, Octopus also has plans to upgrade 500,000 existing houses to Zero Bills too.
