When you choose to buy your energy from a green supplier, you are choosing to support a cleaner and more sustainable energy system in the UK. However, with prices still sky high, it helps if you can save money at the same time as saving energy and the planet.
Below are three trusted green energy providers that reward you financially for actively participating in making energy smarter, greener and cheaper.
OVO Energy
OVO Energy has just introduced a rewards programme offering customers a free boiler service and money off their energy bills.
Households who sign up will receive an extra £10 off their bills each month through OVO Energy’s Power Move scheme. The scheme, which is free to join, rewards customers for using energy during peak times when there’s more pressure on the network.
The new loyalty programme also offers exclusive benefits and heating-related discounts worth up to 35 per cent off. These include a Tado Smart Thermostat for £96 instead of £200, 30 per cent off heating and plumbing repairs booked through the OVO app and a free boiler service worth £84 in the first year after signing up.
There is also the offer of an Ovo Energy Expert consultation for £15 instead of £100 – an 85 per cent discount.
OVO said the “at-home assessments” will offer bill-payers recommendations on how to improve the energy-efficiency of their homes, which will save them energy and money.
Those who sign up to the loyalty scheme can also bag VIP access to live events and experiences at OVO arenas across the UK, including in Glasgow and London.
Mat Moakes, chief commercial officer at OVO said: “We know consumers have a real desire to do the right thing for our planet, but cost remains a key barrier, which is why we’ve created a new type of rewards programme. OVO Beyond lets customers make savings today and bank rewards for making more sustainable choices, powering the switch to a greener future.”
You will only qualify for the OVO Beyond loyalty scheme if you are an OVO customer with a smart meter and paying by direct debit.
Octopus Energy
Octoplus is a reward scheme from Octopus Energy where smart meter customers can earn money for making smarter energy choices. Eligible customers can earn ‘Octopoints’ by taking part in Saving Sessions, and keeping their account up to date.
The scheme enables you to get free electricity when the grid is greenest. It takes advantage of the half hourly pricing of electricity, which changes depending on how many people are using energy. When there are fewer people using the grid, you can get super green and cheap energy.
Octopus will email you a few hours or even a day ahead letting you know a ‘Free Electricity Session’ is coming up. You can choose to opt in and use as much energy as you like (safely, of course). Your usage will then be credited back to your Octopus balance. It means you can use energy AND make money. This year, Saving Sessions are available only in the colder months. But the Octoplus scheme offers other perks available all year round, including:
- Spins of the wheel to win a discount
- Extra points for friend referrals and solar referrals (you get to split £100 with every friend you refer, and get 800 Octopoints)
- Free weekly coffee from Greggs
- 2 for £10 Odeon cinema tickets
- National Trust days out
- 25% off at six different brands of restaurants
- A prize draw for summer festival tickets
Octopus is also rewarding its electric vehicle (EV)-driving customers with what it calls the ‘ultimate’ EV package. This provides customers with the car, home charger and EV tariff. Monthly bills cover the car, tyres, servicing, repair and breakdown assistance from The AA.
You can access all these rewards through the Octopus app or website.
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SO Energy
The So Rewarding scheme from SO Energy gives you the chance to get paid and win prizes for shifting your usage to off-peak times and taking the strain off the energy grid in the winter. SO Energy will tell you in advance when a So Rewarding Moment is coming up, and it’s up to you how much energy you decide to not use in that time.
During each event, the total volume of energy saved by all participants will add up and unlock prize tiers shown on a So Energy ‘battery’.
For each 0.1kWh you reduce your normal demand, you earn a prize draw ticket. So the more you save, the more tickets you earn and the better chance you have of winning a prize. For example, it takes about 0.2kWh of energy to boil a kettle, which equates to 2 tickets. Your typical oven will use 1-2 kWh so moving your dinner outside of a So Rewarding Moment can help to unlock prize levels.
Once an event is finished, your readings will be calculated to see how much you’ve saved and the winners announced.
To get involved, you’ll need a smart meter that’s sending readings to SO Energy.
