Octopus Energy serves notice to over 260,000 drivers on its Intelligent Octopus Go plan, the UK's go-to for bargain basement charging. Starting end of January 2026, smart charging at 7p per kWh caps at six hours per household every 24 hours, no matter when the session falls. Households keep six hours of off-peak home power from 11:30pm to 5:30am, but extra car charging beyond the limit jumps to bump rates around 27p per kWh, even in off-peak slots.
The tweak targets heavy users who stretch sessions by slowing charge speeds or granny chargers, practices that strain the grid and wholesale prices. Octopus notes 80 percent of sessions already wrap under six hours, so most daily commuters dodge the hit. Larger battery owners facing 10-plus hour top-ups could see costs double without app tweaks to hit charge targets faster.
