Octopus Energy Help & FAQs

First things first, do you already have a permit to operate? If not, you will need to contact your utility company to get your solar permit. Once your solar is connected to the grid, we will start receiving your surplus generation data.

All of our plans have the solar buyback feature, so as long as you're connected to the grid you will receive credits for your excess energy. 

We buy back your excess production at the Texas wholesale rate, allow rollover credits that do not expire, have no cap on how much excess energy you can sell to us and if you make more than $50 in monthly solar credit, you can request cash back instead of it being credited to your account like it normally would be. If you request cash back, a check will be sent to you in that amount. 

The Texas wholesale rate is updated every 15 minutes, depending on the demand and market conditions in your area. As demand and stress on the grid increase, the price also rises. We calculate your credit based on the average wholesale rate during the times you exported energy, and you can find this credit listed as a line item on your statement.

The wholesale rate varies depending on seasonality, being much lower in the winter months and higher during the summer due to market demand. 

You can monitor the wholesale rate by visiting the Real-Time Settlement Point Display page. You can view the real-time market for the current day as well as the previous five days. 

You can also view your daily, weekly and monthly surplus generation on Smart Meter Texas.