Too good to be true? New scheme promises chance to live in a house with zero energy bills

New homeowners could save nearly £1,800 a year on average

Hundreds of thousands of future homeowners could soon benefit from a scheme that would eradicate their energy bills, as Octopus Energy collaborates with a number of 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, and new residents of these properties are guaranteed to pay no energy bills for at least 10 years. Based on the price cap set by Ofgem for the start of 2026, this would represent an average yearly saving of £1,758.

A rendering of the homes that will be available on zero-bills tariffs from 2026 (Octopus/Barratt Redrow)

Nigel Banks, technical 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 wants to roll out 100,000 homes on its “zero bills tariff” by 2030, and recently invested £100m to fund the initiative. So far, over 5,000 properties have been approved with several developers. This includes a partnership with Tilia Homes, for homes in Hardingstone, Northampton, and the builder Thakeham, which says half of its homes in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, are eligible.

Housing secretary Steve Reed: ‘It’s going to be such a welcome change for people’ (PA)

For potential buyers interested in securing a “no bills” home, Octopus has a list of participating developers and locations. These include:

• Bristol (Verto)
• Devon (Verto)
• Weeley, Essex (Purely)
• Epping Forest, Essex (gs8)
• Exeter (Verto)
• Somerset Moors (Autograph Homes)
• North Somerset (Edenstone)
• Newport, Essex (Hill)
• Burgess Hill, West Sussex (Thakeham)
• Stanford-le-Hope, Essex (Soresi)

Housing secretary Steve Reed recently commended the initiative, asking: “How can we make more homes capable of generating their own energy. 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. It's going to be such a welcome change for people.”

Mr Reed recently doubled down on the government’s promise to deliver 1.5 million new homes by the next election – despite concerns that the goal may be difficult to achieve.