In the race to curb emissions, Greg Jackson, founder and CEO of U.K.-based Octopus Energy Group, believes the answer lies not in asking consumers to pay more, but in harnessing technology to “align their interests with those of the planet.”
At the heart of the group’s strategy is dynamic pricing, enabled by Kraken, its power-grid operating system. When there’s an abundance of wind, for example, Octopus Energy has paid customers to use energy. When there is little wind or sun, and the grid relies on fossil fuels, the company alerts customers that it will pay those who curb their energy usage. Doing so, it says, saved over 960,000 lbs. of CO2 from being released in the U.K. last winter. Conventional wisdom is that customers don’t want to think about their energy provider. “Right at the beginning, I said, ‘I want to challenge that assumption,’” Jackson says. Octopus has continued finding intelligent ways to take full advantage of these swings in supply, for example by offering customers with electric vehicles a way to only charge their cars when electricity is exceptionally cheap.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]Octopus Energy Group, which is valued at $9 billion, has licensed Kraken to utility providers in 17 countries including the U.K., Australia, and much of mainland Europe. In May, it signed its first North American customer, Saint John Energy, in New Brunswick, Canada. And, since 2022, Octopus Energy has partnered with U.K. developers to bring its technology to “Zero Bill Homes”—houses kitted with batteries and solar, to which it promises no energy bills for at least five years. In September, the company announced its intention to create 100,000 such homes by 2030 in an effort to set a new standard in sustainable housing. —Harry Booth
What is the single most important action you think the public, or a specific company or government (other than your own), needs to take in the next year to advance the climate agenda?
The single most important thing governments and policymakers around the world can do to fight climate change is to drive the electrification of transport and heating. Only by electrifying everything, can we take full advantage of the power of the sun and the wind. This not only benefits the climate but also consumers’ pockets. Clean technologies like electric cars and heat pumps are not only better for the planet, customers also prefer them over their carbon-heavy counterparts.
What’s the most important climate legislation that could pass in the next year?
The fossil fuel crisis sent shockwaves around the globe, leading to skyrocketing energy prices that saw millions of households struggling to pay their energy bills. No one has ever weaponised solar or wind energy. So if this global trauma has taught us anything, it’s that we need to build vastly more renewables—and we need to do it quickly.
We pay millions of dollars a year to wind generators to turn off when there’s too much electricity on the grid—valuable green energy that is being wasted because the system is not fit for purpose. What we need is an overhaul of our energy market and introduce price signals so energy demand moves closer to energy generation. Price signals like this exist in many other industries—think supermarkets or airlines—and indeed in energy in lots of other economies, including Norway.
By reforming our wholesale energy markets, electricity costs in renewables-rich areas like Scotland would plummet, driving economic growth whilst creating a more resilient, future-proof energy system.
If you could stand up and talk to world leaders at the next U.N. climate conference, what would you say?
I would tell world leaders that the time for isolated action is over. The stakes are higher than ever, with parties opposing strong climate action gaining ground across Europe. We’re at a critical juncture, and the only way forward is to accelerate electrification and build a greener, cheaper energy system. Instead of competing with other countries, we should share learnings and technology and work together to build a global clean energy future.
If we don’t, we’ll miss the boat on this tidal wave of change. We’ll be left struggling with outdated energy systems and policies, while others reap the benefits of a clean, modern economy. To stay competitive, we must cut the red tape, speed up renewable projects, and reform the wholesale energy market. We need to think long-term, beyond election cycles and national borders.
