Octopus Energy is handing customers free £139 if they have one thing in house

A new Octopus Energy smart tariff can help people with a storage heater save £139 each year. Snug Octopus, the Intelligent tariff for storage heaters, will hand customers back £139 a year, in a major Cost of Living boost for customers.

Storage heaters are usually white, wall-mounted, and have a grille at the top. They work by storing heat at night and releasing it in the day. If that's what you have, Snug Octopus could be for you, the energy firm - which is rivalled by OVO, EDF, EOn and British Gas - said.

You need to be an Octopus Energy customer because certain storage heaters that are controlled by a smart meter. You also need a second-generation smart meter (SMETS2) Octopus is connected to. If you’re unsure about any of the above, don’t worry.

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The firm says it'll run some checks during the sign up process to make sure you’re eligible. Storage heaters use electricity to heat ceramic or clay bricks inside them overnight. The heat is then gradually released the next day. Usually, there's a little dial that lets you control how quickly that happens.

Homes with storage heaters are often on time-of-use tariffs, like Eco-7. These tariffs have cheaper electricity rates at night, so you can take advantage of low rates while you sleep and your storage heaters power up. But on Snug Octopus, these rates are even cheaper.

It adds: "We're working behind the scenes to make Snug Octopus compatible with more storage heaters. In the meantime, you can still find fantastic value on all our other Octopus tariffs – our standard prices have always been cheaper than any other large supplier."

Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, Chief Product Officer at Octopus Energy Group, said: “Many homes struggling with fuel costs use electric storage heaters, making them especially vulnerable to rising energy prices.

“Snug Octopus is designed to help these customers take charge of their heating, adjusting it to fit their personal needs and schedules - all while enjoying the peace of mind that comes from using energy at the cheapest and greenest times."