Octopus Energy sends £149 message to customers and says 'we're not'

Octopus Energy has contacted its customers to let them know about rises to their bills. The Energy Price cap will rise by an average of £149 a year from October, piling more pressure onto households ahead of winter.

Octopus, one of the UK's largest energy suppliers, has set out how the change will impact direct debit-paying customers. For customers on a standard tariff, they said bills would likely stay the same for now and be reviewed after a certain period.

Most direct debit customers pay a flat rate each month for gas and electricity, which is raised or reduced from time to time based on how much energy they are using. While bills may not shoot up straight away for many families, they should be braced for a shock at some point over the winter when charges are likely to be reviewed, particularly as millions of homes start to use their heating.

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Octopus said: "Ofgem (the energy regulator) has announced the energy price cap will rise around 10% for a typical home from October 1 to December 31, due to the global cost of energy. Once again, Octopus prices are lower. You will continue to receive the cheapest standard standing charges of any large supplier.

"We’re not adjusting your payments right now. We continually check your balance and payments, and suggest changes if it looks like you’re paying too much or too little."

The firm added: "It may be a good time to fix your prices. We don’t know exactly what energy prices will do in January and beyond, but most analysts are predicting the price cap will hover above £1,700 for the next 12 months.

"Our Octopus 15M Fixed tariff is currently £1,656 per year for a typical home, and has no exit fees. This means if prices continue to fall, you can simply choose another tariff in your online account."