British households have collectively earned nearly £100 million by selling excess solar electricity back to the grid through Octopus Energy over the past year. More than 400,000 households are currently using the supplier’s export tariffs, receiving an average payment of £244 during the 12-month period.
These customers collectively exported over 825 GWh of spare electricity to the grid. Octopus Energy states this amount is equivalent to the annual output of a medium-sized gas-fired power station.
Interest in domestic solar installations has also increased recently. Almost 74,000 people enquired about solar panel installations with Octopus during May, June, and July, marking a 34% rise compared to the same three months last year. On June 26, 2026, the hottest day of the year at that point, solar enquiries were 50% above the monthly average.
Demand for standalone battery installations saw an even sharper increase, rising by 630% year-on-year over the three-month period. Home batteries enable households to store cheaper electricity for later use or sell surplus power to the grid when wholesale prices are higher.
Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, chief product and marketing officer at Octopus Energy, noted that over 400,000 UK households on their tariffs are already generating their own clean energy, and this number continues to climb. She added that increased use of homegrown green energy sources reduces reliance on fossil fuels and enhances energy system security.
Solar power is playing an increasingly significant role in Britain’s energy mix. Octopus reports that rooftop and ground-mounted installations have generated a record 14.4% of the country’s electricity demand so far this year.