Drivers will face price hikes from May 1. MoneySavingExpert (MSE) founder Martin Lewis has shared his views on the upcoming price increase for certain Octopus Energy customers. The energy supplier has notified customers of a price hike for both the Octopus Go and Intelligent Octopus Go (IOG) variable tariffs, effective from May 1, 2026.

The overnight rate for Intelligent Octopus Go is reported to rise to 6.9p/kWh. The increase was announced on April 20, giving customers about 10 days' notice. However, even with the May 2026 adjustment to 6.9p/kWh, it still sits significantly lower than the standard national average.

A customer reached out to Martin Lewis on X about the May 1 rate increase: "Octopus putting up their Octopus Go rates from May 1 even though they brought them down just weeks ago for the drop in the price cap? Doesn't sound right."

Martin Lewis replied: "Doesn't sound great, but just to be technical. Octopus Go is not a price-capped tariff, so it didn't move due to drop in Price Cap. It dropped due to the removal of some Government policy costs from energy bills(the same reason the cap moved, but they're still separate).

"As it's not price-capped and it is a variable tariff, it is allowed to move the price as long as adequate notice is given. I'm afraid the only option is to ditch and switch elsewhere. You're supposed to get thirty days' notice of yen changes, some of you saying you got less. We're going to check it out."

Octopus Energy chief executive Greg Jackson said the company is not breaking any rules and says the tariffs are still "very cheap".

He said: "Whilst rises are painful and we work very hard to avoid them (you can look back and see very few over the years on these tariffs) - these tariffs are still very cheap - typical users on this tariff will have a blended rate of around 18.3p/kWh - around 20% below the Price Cap, and the more they charge their car the bigger the saving.

"You don't need to buy a charger from us. The points about timing are well taken. In terms of "reviewed every three months" - although the price was changed less than three months ago - that was simply passing through the Government cut, in full.

"We haven't changed the price ourselves for four months (Octopus Go) and longer (for Intelligent Octopus Go) - and in terms of notice period, Ofgem removed the 30 days (we assume because it sometimes caused people to leave good value tariffs).

"We aim for about two weeks - slightly less this time, as we didn't want to email over the weekend when there'd be less support available. And perspective is important - an EV on these tariffs is about five to eight times cheaper per mile than a petrol car, despite the fact the UK has such high electricity prices."

On X, Octopus Energy's official account explained: "That 3.49p off-peak rate on Intelligent Octopus Go (IOG) happened because we took the Government's recent levy cuts (about £130 off a typical bill) and baked them directly into those smart windows.

"For those on a variable tariff like Flexible Octopus, your price is protected by the Ofgem Price Cap, which is currently falling but at a different pace because it averages out wholesale costs over several months to avoid sudden spikes. Each tariff reflects a different way of buying energy, either locking it in early or following the market's "weighted average" under the cap."