What is Octopus Agile?
Agile Octopus is a dynamic tariff from Octopus Energy: instead of one flat rate all day, you pay a different price every half hour — 48 slots a day — tracking the wholesale electricity market.
When wholesale power is cheap (typically overnight, or on windy and sunny days) your rate can drop to a few pence per kWh; at the evening peak (roughly 4–7pm) it gets expensive. The whole game is choosing when you use electricity.
When are tomorrow's prices published?
Around 4pm UK time every day, Octopus publishes all 48 half-hourly prices for the next day. That means every evening you can plan ahead: run the washing tonight, or set the timer for the early hours? This site updates automatically so you can see today and tomorrow at a glance.
Is there a price cap?
Yes — Agile's unit rate is capped at 100p/kWh, however wild the wholesale market gets. The daily standing charge still applies, as on any tariff.
What are negative prices?
Occasionally wind and solar produce more power than the grid can absorb and wholesale prices fall below zero — at which point Agile customers are paid to use electricity("plunge pricing"). It happens a handful of times a year, usually on windy nights. When you see blue bars on our chart, that's a negative-price slot.
Who suits Agile?
- Households that can shift usage — laundry, dishwashing and drying can all run on a timer
- Homes with an EV, home battery, or electric immersion heating
- Anyone out during the day who can simply avoid the 4–7pm peak
Conversely, if most of your usage is locked to the evening peak, Agile can cost more than a fixed tariff — worth thinking through before you switch.