Too good to be true? New scheme promises chance to live in a house with zero energy bills
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the worldSign up to our free Morning Headlines emailSign up to our free Morning Headlines emailHundreds of thousands of future homeowners could soon benefit from a scheme which would eradicate their energy bills, as Octopus Energy collaborates with several housebuilders to deliver savings.The energy supplier – which became the UK’s largest last year – is working with developers to build homes in the UK that are fitted with bill-busting upgrades like solar panels, heat pumps and battery storage.In the run up to Christmas, Octopus has partnered with Barratt Redrow, the country’s largest housebuilder, to deliver 54 of these homes next year.These will be in Wixams, Bedfordshire and Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, with the new residents of these properties paying no energy costs for at least 10 years.open image in galleryA rendering of the homes that will be available on zero bills tariffs from 2026 (Octopus / Barratt Redrow)Based on the price cap set by Ofgem for the start of 2026, this would represent an average yearly saving of £1,758.Nigel Banks, Zero Bills Director at Octopus Energy, said: “We’ve been working closely with Barratt Redrow on their research trials and we are now able to showcase what can be achieved with Zero Bills at scale in new housing developments.“With new homes already being built with solar panels, heat pumps and EV chargers, eliminating home energy bills with our game-changing tariff is now a simple, viable and cost-effective upgrade.”Octopus has said it wants to roll out 100,000 homes on its ‘Zero Bills tariff’ by 2030, recently investing £100m to boost the initiative. So far, over 5,000 have been approved with several developers.This includes a partnership with Tilia Homes, for homes in Hardingstone, Northampton, as well as Thakeham, which says half of its home in Templegate, Burgess Hill are eligible.open image in galleryHousing secretary Steve Reed said: “It's going to be such a welcome change for people” (Ben Whitley/PA) (PA Wire)For potential buyers interested in securing a ‘no bills’ home, Octopus has a list of some of the other participating developers and locations. These are:Bristol (Verto)Devon (Verto)Weeley, Essex (Purely)Epping Forest, Essex (gs8)Exeter (Verto)Somerset Moors (Autograph Homes)North Somerset (Edenstone)Newport (Hill)Sussex (Thakeham)Stanford-le-Hope (Soresi)Housing secretary Steve Reed recently commended the initiative, asking: "how we can make more homes capable of generating their own energy in the way that this development is?".“If you move into one of the homes on this development, you'll have no energy bills for at least five years, possibly as long as 10 years,” he said.“It's going to be such a welcome change for people.”The Labour minister recently doubled down on the government’s pledge to deliver 1.5 million new homes by the next election – despite concerns that the goal may be difficult to achieve.
