Octopus Energy has announced a partnership with Amazon Alexa which will see the supplier’s Agile Octopus tariff integrated with the talk-activated technology.
Octopus says its customers will be able to have “full visibility” of their energy consumption while managing usage via a voice command.
The technology will allow customers to ask Alexa questions such as when their electricity is cheapest or most expensive, enabling them to plan their usage accordingly.
Greg Jackson, Octopus’ chief executive, said: “Our integration with Amazon Alexa lets customers interact with their energy in an entirely new way.
“By integrating with a service used by millions, we hope to popularise the energy efficient smart homes needed sustainable future and save customers money in the process.
“Smart homes are fundamental to the transition to a carbon-free energy system. By ensuring consumers see energy consumption as dynamic, and in providing the right technology, we aim to re-imagine how people think about how they use energy.”
Last year the challenger supplier published figures showing how customers on its half-hourly time of use tariff changed their behaviour.
For example, it said, 28 per cent of “engaged” customers who exhibited a “statistically significant change” in their usage over peak times lowered their consumption by 28.2 per cent during these periods.
On average, they reduced their peak consumption by 15.62kWh per month – the equivalent of 11 washing machine cycles – and cut their monthly carbon emissions by 4.5kg.