Octopus Agile Stats

Tracking periods when electricity is cheap

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Region
Retrospective Analysis
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Total Plunges
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Lowest Recorded
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How Octopus Agile Works

The Agile Octopus tariff links your electricity price directly to live wholesale energy prices. The day is divided into discrete 30-minute "slots." When weather conditions are perfect, excess renewable energy floods the grid, causing wholesale prices to plunge below zero. During these negative slots, Octopus actively pays you for every single unit (kWh) of electricity you consume! This dashboard tracks the historical frequency and intensity of those 30-minute slots.

Average Prices

These are the typical agile rates per time of day over the past 6 months.

Weekday

Weekend

Rate Breakdown

This is a breakdown of how frequently prices are in each range.

Last 6 Months

Yearly

Cheap Slots per Month & Year

Yearly Breakdown

Year Total Cheap/Negative Priced Slots Total Days with Cheap/Negative Prices

Daily Lowest Price Tracker

Showing lowest slot price and the average price of the lowest 2 hours per day

Date Lowest Slot Price (p/kWh) Lowest Slot Time Cheapest 2 Hrs Avg (p/kWh)

Most Negative Slots: Year vs Month

Frequency of negative prices by year and month

📊 Macro Trend Analysis

Historically, negative pricing clusters heavily in the spring and deeply windy winter months (noticeably spiking in 2023 and 2024). The volume of cheap slots systematically accelerates during seasons with erratic high-pressure weather patterns, where intense renewable generation (abundant wind) overlaps with mild temperatures, keeping baseline heating and cooling demands low.

Yearly Distribution: Daily Slot Intensity

Total number of matching slots per specific day of the year

Most Negative Slots: Day vs Hour

Average payout (in pence per kWh) during negative slots

âš¡ The "Sunday Slump" Phenomenon

There is a drastic intensity shift clustering specifically on Saturdays and Sundays. Plunges happen reliably during midday slots (10:00 - 15:00) and deep overnight segments (01:00 - 05:00). These windows represent the exact collision of maximum renewable output (peak midday solar or nighttime offshore wind) meeting the massive structural drop-off in commercial and industrial power consumption during the weekend checkout.

Total Slots: Month vs Weekday

Total frequency of negative slots by month and day of the week

📅 The Seasonal Weekend Skew

Sunday heavily dominates the cheap pricing distribution vertically across all twelve months. Interestingly, during high-solar high-heat summer months (like July and August), this "weekend effect" frequently bleeds backwards into Fridays and Mondays as large parts of the industrial grid throttle down, exacerbating the oversupply problem.

Unique Days: Month vs Weekday

Number of distinct calendar days that experienced at least one negative slot

💡 Slot Volume vs Day Consistency

While the previous chart highlights sheer volume (how many total slots plunged), this chart reveals reliability. It strips away multi-slot wind-storms to show you how many actual distinct calendar days plunged globally. If a cell is intensely colored here, it means you can routinely bank on that specific weekday plunging in that month!

Understanding the Octopus Agile Tariff & Wholesale Energy Prices

The Octopus Agile tariff represents a paradigm shift in how households consume electricity in the UK. Unlike traditional fixed-rate tariffs where you pay a flat fee per unit of electricity (kWh) regardless of when you use it, Agile prices fluctuate every 30 minutes based on wholesale energy costs. This dynamic pricing model empowers consumers to take control of their energy bills by shifting their heavy usage to cheaper periods.

Why Do Prices Plunge Below Zero?

The UK's energy grid relies heavily on renewable sources like wind and solar power. These green energy sources are fantastic for the environment but are inherently unpredictable. When we experience exceptionally windy or sunny days, the grid can become flooded with a surplus of generated electricity. Because storing massive amounts of electricity is still technologically challenging and expensive, the grid operators must balance supply and demand instantly.

If the supply vastly outstrips the national demand—often occurring during the early hours of the morning or sunny weekend afternoons—wholesale prices can literally drop below zero. To prevent grid overload, energy companies like Octopus Energy will pass these negative prices on to Agile customers, effectively paying you to consume electricity. By turning on your washing machine, charging an electric vehicle (EV), or heating a water tank during these negative "plunge" slots, you actively help balance the national grid while earning credit on your energy bill.

Maximizing Savings with Load Shifting

To truly benefit from the Agile tariff, customers practice what is known as "load shifting." This involves moving energy-intensive tasks away from the peak hours (typically between 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM, when national demand spikes as people return home) and into the cheaper, off-peak slots. Smart home appliances, home battery storage systems, and EV chargers can be automated to schedule their consumption precisely during the cheapest 30-minute intervals identified by our dashboard.

How to Use This Dashboard

Our analytical dashboard is designed to provide deep historical insights into Agile pricing trends. By analyzing past data, you can identify seasonal patterns, such as the "Sunday Slump" or the frequency of negative pricing during windy winter months. The tools provided here allow you to filter historical data by region and year, track the daily lowest prices, and visualize complex pricing heatmaps. Whether you are deciding if Agile is right for your household or optimizing your existing smart home setup, understanding these long-term trends is key to unlocking maximum energy savings.