Octopus Energy night charging tariff
Electricity supplier in Money & business
Recommended for a good night charging deal, a real-time API and well-run service; the most common caveat is pushing smart meters that do not function as smart meters.
8 people recommended Octopus Energy night charging tariff in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 13 comments.
11 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- mixed feelings
- 1
- warn against or regret it
- 2
The record
Recommended in 4 of 12 months
In 7 different threads.
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
- Recommended in 7 threadsNeeds 5 or more, met.
- The biggest thread supplies 38% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 13 of the 13 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Well-run, trusted electricity supplier
“I’m a big fan of what they’re doing compared to a lot of our other electricity retailers.”
Comment from 14 Oct 2026 in “The United Kingdom generates less electricity per person than in the 1970s” “A number of suppliers (notably Good Energy and Octopus) perform surprisingly well”
Comment from 2 Nov 2025 in “Matched Clean Power Index” “Octopus seem to have some idea what they're actually doing”
Comment from 13 Nov 2025 in “Britain's railway privatization was an abject failure” - Comment from 15 Jan 2026 in “Why can't I bank a solar generated summer kWh to use in the winter?”
Real-time electricity API and consumption data
“Companies like Octopus have provided things like real-time electricity APIs.”
Comment from 13 Nov 2025 in “Britain's railway privatization was an abject failure” “they have a proper api with 30min consumption updates”
Comment from 13 Jan 2026 in “What a year of solar and batteries saved us in 2025” Night and wholesale-linked tariffs
“decent support, incentives and new products such as tariffs that track the wholesale rate”
Comment from 13 Nov 2025 in “Britain's railway privatization was an abject failure” “Octopus have a good deal for night charging, click click done.”
Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “UK Government Launches Fuel Forecourt Price API”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Pushes smart meters that don't work
“their insistence on us getting "smart" meters that can't then function as smart meters”
Comment from 4 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: Craftplan – I built my wife a production management tool for her bakery” “Octopus pressured us into getting smart meters”
Comment from 4 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: Craftplan – I built my wife a production management tool for her bakery” Ignores solar and battery owners' needs
“They aren't looking at temporal moves of energy either, which is a big part of Octopus energies customers who are solar and battery owners”
Comment from 2 Nov 2025 in “Matched Clean Power Index”
What people said
All 13 opinions about it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I’m a big fan of what they’re doing compared to a lot of our other electricity retailers.”
“Octopus Energy is one of the worst for that.”
“Octopus pressured us into getting smart meters”
“Octopus merely used their software agility to make the most of it.”
“their insistence on us getting "smart" meters that can't then function as smart meters”
“Octopus have a good deal for night charging, click click done.”
“it's been the best electricity company I've ever had”
“they have a proper api with 30min consumption updates”
“decent support, incentives and new products such as tariffs that track the wholesale rate”
“Octopus seem to have some idea what they're actually doing”
“Companies like Octopus have provided things like real-time electricity APIs.”
“They aren't looking at temporal moves of energy either, which is a big part of Octopus energies customers who are solar and battery owners”
“A number of suppliers (notably Good Energy and Octopus) perform surprisingly well”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.