Octopus Energy boss warns against energy bailout as bills set to rise

Joe Sledge
Sat, 25 Apr 2026 13:00:32 +0000

The chief executive of Octopus Energy has urged Labour to scale back its £100billion electricity grid expansion programme rather than provide financial support to households facing higher bills.

Greg Jackson said the scale of planned infrastructure spending was excessive and called for reductions of up to 80 per cent.

Speaking to The Telegraph, he argued that addressing underlying energy costs would be more effective than consumer bailouts.

“Before you talk about bailouts, you should be talking about how you slash the cost of energy,” he said.

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Household energy bills are forecast to reach around £2,000 in the coming months, still far below the £6,000 level feared during the Ukraine crisis.

Labour projections suggest electricity demand could rise by 50 per cent by 2035 and double by 2050, driven by the shift to electric vehicles and electric heating.

Mr Jackson said these forecasts overstate expected demand, particularly during morning and evening peaks.

“We should be urgently reassessing spending plans for grid and networks and saying ‘We’re going to slash that by £50billion, £70billion, because we can run the electricity system without it’,” he said.

Data from Octopus indicates that households adopting electric vehicles increase overall electricity use by around 60 per cent, while peak‑time demand rises by only four per cent.

Official projections, by comparison, estimate a 70 per cent increase in peak demand.

Network charges, which fund electricity infrastructure, currently cost around £166 a year for a typical household and could rise to £251 by the end of the decade.

Analysts have warned these costs may become a key factor driving higher energy bills by 2030.

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Mr Jackson is not the only industry figure to question demand forecasts.

Simone Rossi, chief executive of EDF, has also raised concerns, noting that electricity consumption has fallen over the past 20 years.

Labour has defended its approach to infrastructure investment.

A spokesman said ministers are seeking to address historic underinvestment and deliver a cleaner energy system by 2030, adding that the strategy aims to reduce bills over the long term.

Ministers also pointed to measures allowing suppliers to offer lower tariffs during periods of high renewable generation.

Mr Jackson also addressed questions about his relationship with Labour after renewable energy entrepreneur Dale Vince raised concerns about his advisory roles.

He said ministers do not always follow his recommendations, pointing to recent decisions to reject regional electricity pricing and block a Chinese wind turbine manufacturer, which his company had opposed.