Octopus Energy completes switch of 1.3m Shell customers to officially make it Britain’s second-largest energy firm

Octopus Energy has now fully acquired all 1.3 million households from Shell Energy – and that only took two months.

The deal officially makes Octopus the country’s second largest energy company, after British Gas, but also the largest electricity supplier.

Octopus completed its purchase of Shell’s retail energy business in December 2023. The energy giant says this migration has beaten its previous switching record by four months, set when the company acquired Bulb’s 1.5 million customers.

Greg Jackson, founder of Octopus, said: ‘We are delighted to have completed the transfer of all Shell Energy customers to Octopus Energy and to have achieved this milestone in record time.’

For former Shell customers who have now joined Octopus, there will be no major changes.

The main difference is in the way the two energy companies send bills.

Customers who do not provide Octopus with monthly meter readings will receive an estimated bill every three months, instead of every four weeks as was the case with Shell.

This is because Shell sent monthly invoices to customers, regardless of whether or not they had provided a meter reading.

Octopus has a different policy and therefore asks customers to provide meter readings every month so that they receive a monthly invoice based on those readings.

If customers do not provide Octopus with meter readings for three months, the energy company will then send them an invoice based on the estimated energy consumption.

Octopus continues to supply all former Shell customers with 100 percent green energy.

Octopus has also offered more than 6,000 of Shell’s most vulnerable customers free, energy-efficient electric blankets to help them reduce their energy bills.

The energy company said customers who used electric blankets in winter saved £150 a year on gas and electricity costs.

The average UK gas and electricity bill will be £1,690 a year from April 1, provided households get deals restricted by Ofgem’s price cap.

Regulator Ofgem said gas and electricity bills have fallen to their lowest levels in two years, but are still very high by historical standards.

Ofgem will then update its price cap in July 2024.

Octopus says tThe first Shell customer was moved to Octopus just before Christmas to test the process, with the actual migration starting on January 30.

It used its proprietary technology platform, Kraken, which it claims is the industry’s most adept software system for large-scale customer migrations.

Greg Jackson added: “Thanks to the effectiveness of Kraken and Octopus’ promise of brilliant customer service, we have seamlessly transitioned customers to our platform while ensuring a smooth and hassle-free experience.”

Octopus says all 500 customer-facing employees at Shell Energy have been promoted to new roles, with the majority based in Octopus’ new office in Coventry.