Octopus Energy: We're Built to Last

Over the past few weeks we’ve seen a number of our competitors close their doors due to the Texas Energy Crisis. ERCOT has stated that energy providers who have declared bankruptcy as a result of the crisis owe almost $291 billion, collectively. Although we’re fresh on the scene, we want you to know that we’re here to stay. 

Here’s why we’re built to last: 

During the last five years, Octopus Energy has grown to almost 2 million customers worldwide. Since starting in the UK, we’ve expanded to the US (Hi, Texas!), Germany, Japan, and Australia. We’ve won coveted awards abroad such as the Which? Recommended Provider status for the fourth year in a row (The Which? Awards highlight the best businesses in the UK). Moreover, we’ve officially reached ‘double unicorn’ status after Origin and Tokyo Gas invested in our compelling mission: cleaner, cheaper energy with excellent customer service. 

We’re backed by solid investors, allowing us to keep doing what we do best

Octopus Energy has the best of both worlds - the technology and vision of a startup, and the security of being backed by major investors. 

Our First Investor: Octopus Group

Stage 1 of our journey has been generated entirely by our eponymous backers, Octopus Group. With their support, we grew to 1.5 million residential customers across Octopus Energy, M&S Energy, Affect Energy, London Power, Co-op Energy and Tesla Power. Simultaneously, we grew to over 12,000 business customers through innovative proprietary energy solutions with Octopus Energy Business, including our partnership with Arsenal Football Club (soccer) and the UK’s National Space Centre. 

A large portion of Octopus Energy is still owned by Octopus Group, who runs a number of investment funds, including almost $3.5 billion in renewable energy generation through Octopus Renewables. In addition, they are the UK’s largest investor in onshore solar (meaning panels that aren’t on roofs or in the ocean). Over $2.7 billion has already been invested in Octopus Group’s energy mission thus far, and our relationship with them remains strong. 

Investment from Origin and Tokyo Gas

In early 2020, Stage 2 of Octopus Energy’s mission to make the green energy transition cleaner and cheaper resulted in major investment from Origin, an Australian energy company. Origin’s backing propelled us into a coveted financial position of tech ‘unicorn’, has opened doors to new markets, helped us develop more technology to make energy even greener, and increased our investment in service and growth in our existing markets (the UK and Germany). 

As 2020 drew to a close (and we neared acquisition of 2 million customers), we were delighted to announce that Tokyo Gas, one of Japan’s most respected utilities with 135 years in business, was partnering with us to launch Octopus Energy in Japan. On top of that, Tokyo Gas has invested $200 million for a 9.7 percent stake in Octopus Energy Group to help drive our green energy revolution. 

We should mention that besides Octopus Group, Origin, and Tokyo Gas, the rest of Octopus Energy is owned by our employees. That’s right, every Octopus Energy employee is a shareholder. Every time you call customer service, you’re calling an owner in the company.

We're here to stay

To sum it up, the combination of long-term, good value pricing, and sound backing of major technology investors means we’re aiming for the stars. We’re excited to continue to develop technology that helps you get the cleanest, cheapest energy possible, while offering incredible customer service. 

Want to learn more about Octopus Energy? Check out our podcast, here.