Octopus Flux: rates, eligibility and what it is worth

Octopus Flux is an electricity tariff for homes with solar panels and a home battery. You buy and sell at the same three times of day: cheap from 02:00 to 05:00, dear from 16:00 to 19:00, and a middle rate the rest of the time. It was open to new customers when we checked on 24 September 2026. In London that day, Flux charged 14.56p per kWh to buy at night and paid 28.60p per kWh for exports from 4pm to 7pm (rates without VAT). You need your import and export both with Octopus, a smart meter and an MCS certificate for your installation.

The rates on this page come from Octopus's own price data for 24 September 2026. Flux is a variable tariff and its prices change when Octopus's standard tariff changes, which happens on 1 October 2026, so we will re-read them after that date. Check your own rate on Octopus's Flux page before you switch.

Is Octopus Flux still available?

Yes. On 24 September 2026 Octopus's Flux page invited sign-ups, and its price list showed the Flux import and export tariffs with no end date for new customers.

Its sister tariff is different. Intelligent Octopus Flux, where Octopus controls your battery for you, was closed to new customers that day except those who bought solar panels and a battery from Octopus. Octopus's page said that tariff was paused because energy prices were "particularly volatile", so sign-ups can open and close at short notice. Our Intelligent Octopus Flux guide explains the differences.

Octopus Flux rates in your region

Flux has three price periods, the same for buying (import) and selling (export). These are Octopus's rates for London on 24 September 2026, without VAT:

The standing charge in London was 40.40p a day. There is no VAT on household electricity in Great Britain from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027; before 1 October, 5% VAT is added to the import rates and standing charge.

In every region, the cheap import rate was 40% below the middle rate and the peak rate 40% above it. The times are UK clock time all year, so they move with the clocks in spring and autumn.

Rates differ by region. Octopus prices Flux for the 14 electricity regions of Great Britain (find yours from your postcode on Octopus's page):

Import rates are without VAT. Octopus publishes Flux prices only a day or so ahead in its price data, and its October rates were not out when we checked. What we do know: its standard variable tariff, Flexible Octopus, rises in London from 25.09p to 26.60p per kWh without VAT on 1 October, about 6%. Because VAT on household electricity falls from 5% to 0% the same day, the price you actually pay for Flexible rises by about 1%. Octopus says Flux prices change when Flexible's prices change. Flux has no exit fees, so you can leave if the new rates don't suit you.

Who can join Octopus Flux

You need all of these:

• Solar panels and a home battery. They don't have to be installed by Octopus, and Octopus says Flux works with all solar and battery systems. You can start the switch while your system is being installed.
• An MCS certificate (Octopus calls it the MCS document) for your installation. Octopus needs a copy before it completes the switch.
• An export MPAN, the reference number for your export meter point. Octopus can apply for one for you.
• A smart meter Octopus can read every half hour: a second-generation (SMETS2) meter, or a first-generation meter made by Secure. Without half-hourly readings, Octopus cannot bill Flux.
• Your import and export both with Octopus. If you are not a customer yet, Octopus asks you to join its standard tariff, Flexible Octopus, with Outgoing Octopus for your export, then move to Flux. Octopus says connecting to a smart meter generally takes about 14 days.

Flux import only works with Flux export. You cannot keep Outgoing Octopus or another export tariff alongside it, according to Octopus's tariff compatibility table.

Electric car drivers can join Flux, although Octopus also sells tariffs designed for charging cars overnight. Flux is for Great Britain: Octopus's price list has no Northern Ireland region, and the Smart Export Guarantee doesn't apply there either.

If you get the Feed-in Tariff, moving to Flux doesn't change your generation payments. You must permanently opt out of "deemed" export payments, and Flux then pays for each kWh your smart meter records as exported.

How to run your battery on Flux

On standard Flux you set the battery schedule yourself, in your battery's app. Octopus's general advice is to charge from 02:00 to 05:00 and discharge from 16:00 to 19:00, when electricity costs most to buy.

What each choice is worth depends on the rates. The table below uses the London rates above and assumes the battery returns 90% of what goes in, a typical round-trip figure; your battery's datasheet gives its own.

So the order of priorities is: cover your own 4pm to 7pm use first, then export what is left at the peak. Night charging is worth topping up with, most of all in winter, when a day's solar may not fill the battery. Charging overnight and then exporting only earns what is left after losses, and it wears the battery with every cycle.

What Flux is worth: a worked example

This example runs our calculator's reference case with September 2026 prices, as billed with 5% VAT, for both tariffs. It is an estimate, not a quote. Flux's rates and the Ofgem price cap both change on 1 October 2026, and we will update this example once Octopus publishes Flux's October rates.

• Home: Manchester, 3,600 kWh a year, out for part of the day (MCS's "in half the day" pattern).
• System: 5 kWp of panels and a 5 kWh battery (3 kW, 90% round trip), £11,300 installed in our calculator's price model: £8,100 for the panels and inverter plus £3,200 for the battery.
• Flux rates: London's September rates from the table above, with 5% VAT added to import: 15.29p (02:00–05:00), 35.66p (16:00–19:00) and 25.47p at other times. Exports carry no VAT. In the North West, where Manchester is, import rates were slightly lower and peak and daytime export rates slightly higher (see the regional table).
• Single-rate comparison: the Ofgem price cap for July to September 2026, 26.11p per kWh including 5% VAT (Direct Debit, Great Britain average).
• Battery on Flux: charges from surplus solar and tops up from the grid from 02:00 to 05:00. It covers the home's own use, and does not sell stored energy at the peak, so a battery also run for peak export could earn more.

On these September figures, Flux leaves this home's unit costs about £15 a year lower than a single-rate tariff with 12p exports from Outgoing Octopus, which needs Octopus as your electricity supplier (£70.97 − £56), and about £118 lower than keeping your supplier at 6p (£173.87 − £56). Standing charges are not included; in London in September, Flux's was 42.42p a day and Flexible Octopus's 41.50p, both including VAT.

The calculator's own headline measures Flux against the same tariff without panels or battery. Without a system, this home would pay about £990 a year on Flux's September rates, more than the £939.96 it would pay at the July–September cap (3,600 kWh × 26.11p). So its estimate is a bill reduction of about £935 in the first year with this tariff (£696 less spent on electricity plus £238 of exports; the calculator rounds each figure separately), and a payback of about 12 years on the £11,300 installed price, before any battery or inverter replacement. On the single-rate tariff with 12p exports (needs Octopus as your electricity supplier), the same system lowers the bill by about £869 a year, a payback of about 13 years. The two headline figures differ by more than the two bills because Flux's bill without solar is higher; the net costs in the table are the fairer comparison.

The gap between Flux and a flat 12p export rate from Outgoing Octopus, which needs Octopus as your electricity supplier, is modest for a home like this, because Flux pays only 9.80p for daytime exports. Flux gains most when the battery is big enough to cover your evening use and still export at the peak. To see how much storage suits your home, read our solar battery guide.

Flux or another Octopus tariff?

• Outgoing Octopus pays a flat 12p per kWh for every export, whatever the time, if Octopus supplies your electricity on a compatible tariff. It suits homes without a battery, or whose battery covers their own evening use with little left over. See our Outgoing guide, and our export tariff comparison for other suppliers' rates.
• Intelligent Octopus Flux runs your battery for you, but was closed to new customers on 24 September 2026 unless you bought your system from Octopus.
• An overnight tariff with Outgoing, such as Intelligent Octopus Go 12M Fixed (needs a compatible electric car or charger and Octopus as your supplier), can be worth more for homes with high use. Our guide to tariffs for solar and batteries compares the options open to new customers.

Our calculator lets you pick a Flux-type tariff and edit its rates for your region.

Frequently asked questions

Is Octopus Flux still available to new customers?

Yes. Standard Octopus Flux was open to new customers when we checked on 24 September 2026. Intelligent Octopus Flux, where Octopus controls your battery, was closed except to customers who bought solar panels and a battery from Octopus.

Can I get Octopus Flux without a battery?

No. Octopus lists a solar system and a home battery among its requirements. Without a battery, Flux pays only 9.80p (London, 24 September 2026) for the daytime exports that make up most of your solar surplus, so a flat export rate such as Outgoing Octopus's 12p (needs Octopus as your electricity supplier) usually suits panels alone.

Do my solar panels need to be installed by Octopus?

No. Standard Flux accepts panels and batteries from any installer, as long as you can provide the MCS certificate for the installation.

Can I have Octopus Flux and Outgoing Octopus together?

No. Flux is a paired tariff: your export must be on Flux export. You move from Outgoing to Flux when you join.