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Chris_OVO
Community Manager
Community Manager
January 28, 2025
News

Power Move - new challenge information and changes to Power Move

  • January 28, 2025
  • 238 replies
  • 7839 views
Power Move - New challenge information and changes to Power Move

Updated on 14/07/26 by Abby_OVO

 

Hi everyone,

 

In 2024, OVO customers saved over £1.6 million by shifting their energy and making greener choices with Power Move.

 

Ahead of the challenge starting 1 February 2025, we introduced a few changes.

 

 

Power Move prize draw

 

Whilst Power Move will always be about helping you save money on your energy bills and reducing demand on the energy grid, the way it works has changed.

 

Each month, if you use 15% or less of your total electricity during peak times you’ll now earn entries into a monthly prize draw. The number of entries depends on how much electricity you use during peak times. The lower your home’s peak time energy use, the more entries you’ll earn.

 

 

How we calculate your number of entries

 

If you have a peak time electricity usage of 15% or less at the end of the month, you’ll earn entries for the prize draw. 

 

The amount of entries earned will correspond with your end-of-month peak time electricity use percentage as follows:

 

  • 0 to 1% = 15 entries
  • 1.01 to 2% = 14 entries
  • 2.01 to 3% = 13 entries
  • 3.01 to 4% = 12 entries
  • 4.01 to 5% = 11 entries
  • 5.01 to 6% = 10 entries
  • 6.01 to 7% = 9 entries
  • 7.01 to 8% = 8 entries
  • 8.01 to 9% = 7 entries
  • 9.01 to 10% = 6 entries
  • 10.01 to 11% = 5 entries
  • 11.01 to 12% = 4 entries
  • 12.01 to 13% = 3 entries
  • 13.01 to 14% = 2 entries
  • 14.01% to 15% = 1 entry
  • 15.01% or above = 0 entries

 

After each month ends, the number of entries you’ve earned will be automatically entered into a prize draw, along with all the entries of other customers who’ve earned entries in that month.

 

 

The prizes

 

A minimum of 5 customers each month will win up to a year’s worth of free energy*, with a range of other bill credit prizes also available to win. There’ll be a minimum of 10,000 prizes available every month.

 

You can see what prizes are being offered in the Power Move section of your OVO app and on ovoenergy.com/power-move at the beginning of each new month. 

 

If you’re a winner you’ll be notified in the Power Move section of the app. Customers can win one prize per month.


 

Changes to peak times

 

We've heard your feedback that it can feel difficult to shift your home’s energy use during the current window of 4-7pm. From 1 February 2025, peak times changed to 5pm-7pm, Monday - Friday

 

Weekend usage is still counted as off-peak.

 

 

Updates via the OVO app

 

You'll be able to see your progress through the app. When the new challenge is live, sign in to your account and select 'Power Move' on the home screen.

 

Here, you’ll have a progress dashboard to track how you’re getting on, and see if you’ve won a prize at the end of the month.

 

For more information, visit ovoenergy.com/power-move, our Power Move FAQs and Power Move terms and conditions.

 

*A year’s free energy is set at a maximum bill credit of £2,000. A year’s free energy is calculated in line with Ofgem’s average Energy Price Cap for January-March 2025 for customers paying by Direct Debit, which is worked out based on a 2-3 bedroom house, with 2 to 3 occupants using the average domestic usage in electricity per year. Credit may not equal one year’s free energy if you are a higher than average user or if the price cap were to increase beyond current forecasts. We’ll pay it as energy bill credit in 12 monthly instalments. For example, if you win a year's free energy in January, the credit would be applied to your bill in February and each following month up to the last payment in January the following year.

238 replies

Rank 2
January 28, 2025

“to put a straw into OVO’s wallet and slurp out as much cash as they wanted” – I don’t like this language. Maybe it’s just a language question, as English isn’t my first language. 
“making it more fair on everyone else” – who is “everyone else”?

I’m sorry, I’m not getting it. “Free juice”, “playing game”, “gulp down” – we all are adults here, we can call things as they are. 
Also, links related to South Africa – how are they relevant to us? 

Blastoise186
Super User
Super User
January 28, 2025

There’s a somewhat similar scheme that runs in South Africa. Similar idea to Power Move, except it runs during extreme grid demand and is mandatory - you either take part or you get disconnected until the event is over. Oh, and if you don’t have a Smart Meter then you get instantly disconnected at the start of such events whether you like it or not. OVO Power Move doesn’t do that at least!

That’s why I consider voluntary schemes to be superior.

I also like to post things using a unique style because I find it makes the Forum more interesting. Well, I think it does anyway… Without going too deep into the weeds, “Blastoise186” is ultimately a character/persona whose personality was dreamed up over 25 years ago by the human who controls it. I (as the user behind the name) like to spin Blastoise186 as being someone who’s known for being helpful, yet has a cheeky side and known for doing silly things too. In some ways, the character reflects the personality of the user who controls it, but in others it lets him “escape the real world” and be someone who he isn’t otherwise.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
Rank 2
January 28, 2025

I was wondering, does reducing peak period to 2 hours from 3 make it harder to reach the percentage?

I could be wrong, but at first look, as I see, shorter time slot should make it easier. But it’s a prize draw – that is what makes it harder.

Rank 2
January 28, 2025

There’s a somewhat similar scheme that runs in South Africa. Similar idea to Power Move, except it runs during extreme grid demand and is mandatory - you either take part or you get disconnected until the event is over.

That’s why I consider voluntary schemes to be superior.

It’s South Africa. It’s a different country. Why should compare ourselves to different countries?

Blastoise186
Super User
Super User
January 28, 2025

Because different countries have different solutions to similar problems. You can learn from the mistakes (and successes!) of the others.

What I’m saying is that by taking part in Power Move, you make the National Grid less tempted to use enforced load shedding or other more extreme measures...

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
Rank 2
January 28, 2025

It’s a different country, with different circumstances etc. It’s irrelevant. We are living here, in the UK. 

Rank 5
January 28, 2025

@Blastoise186 

 

I get your points, but I'm sure I read somewhere that most of the funding for these power shifting incentives doesn't come from the providers themselves, so slurping from the pot shouldn't really affect OVO directly. Like all these things though, I can't find the article where I read that now.

IF the hours were still 4-7pm it MIGHT be feasible for us. Since we get in from work on average around 5:30pm half of the old valid hours were with no one in, so by default the electricity usage between 4-7 as a percentage of the day was already low. However, with the hours now being 5-7 we'll be showering, cooking the evening meal, watching TV etc all inside the window. We can't shift the shower and our tea to after 7pm. It's just not practical for our lifestyle.

Like others here, I don't think I've ever won anything in a prize draw. In fact, I always say I could toss a double-headed coin and it would come up tails.

Sadly, this new format and rewards system doesn't work for us. Whether anyone likes to admit it or not, most people do stuff like this to have their ridiculously high energy bills reduced, even by a small amount. Highest in Europe I read somewhere. Very few people were probably doing Power Move to help the planet, whatever OVO may think. It's our wallets that are hurting and putting out lives into some level of disruption for the off chance we may win a prize just doesn't seem worth it.

 

I'll keep showering myself and cooking my tea at the usual times. If it gets me a free year of energy fine. But I won't be making any special effort to achieve the numbers.

I can't believe the emphasis being put on usage of 2% and below. Most people get in from work in that window and want to be clean, and want to eat. Just disappointing after getting SOMETHING almost every month since Power Move started that's all.

January 28, 2025

I was wondering, does reducing peak period to 2 hours from 3 make it harder to reach the percentage?

I could be wrong, but at first look, as I see, shorter time slot should make it easier. But it’s a prize draw – that is what makes it harder.

Doing the maths which is a headache, having one hour less in the peak period could make it harder to meet the 15% target, since you now have less time to use the same amount of energy (15% of your off-peak usage).

Blastoise186
Super User
Super User
January 28, 2025

That may be true right now… But there’s nothing stopping the UK heading in the same (horrible) direction if we don’t do our bit to balance the grid.

That’s why OVO is doing stuff like Power Move, Battery Boost and Charge Anytime - it all adds up!

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
Newcomer
January 28, 2025

Exactly, run the washing machine / dryer / ironing / oven etc at times outside of 5-7pm hence shifting the usage between those hours down on average. If you boiled the kettle every day from 701pm to 1659pm you’d definitely hit it!

Already doing those things outside of the window. Not hitting it. The most energy demanding thing I do is showering at home. To boil the water, it takes 4-5kwh. And I only shower at home once every two weeks. Other time, I shower at the gym to reduce cost. And during 4-7, I only run my laptop and external monitor. My wholeday usage comes to 2-3kwh excluding showering. 2% for a 30day calendar month is at most 1.8kwh. My fridge + laptop usage definitely exceeds that in 20hr time (20 hr is assuming 4 full weeks of weekdays).

My bill is less than £32. Usage is 66 - 90kwh a month.