Octopus teams up with National Grid to upgrade fuses for heat pumps

Octopus has teamed up with National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) to speed up the installation of heat pumps and electric vehicles.

The partnership will see Octopus Energy engineers upgrade the fuse themselves at the same time as they are installing heat pumps, EV chargers and solar panels in their customers’ homes.

This removes a step in the process that could add up to 10 weeks to the installation.

Households often need a fuse upgrade when installing a heat pump or electric vehicle charger due to the increased power requirements of the property. The task has traditionally been undertaken by DNOs.

As reported by Utility Week last year, Octopus engineers were trained up by UK Power Networks colleagues to carry out fuse upgrades at the same time as installing heat pumps in customers’ homes under a pilot scheme.

NGED has also assessed the heat pumps installed by Octopus Energy and pre-approved them for connection across their network – potentially saving up to five weeks where checks would be made to ensure the local electricity grid could accommodate the extra power needed to run the heat pump.

Cordi O’Hara, NGED president, said: “Over the last five years we’ve seen the number of electric vehicle chargers installed on our network increase by eight times, and the number of heat pumps triple.

“These new changes to the fuse upgrade process are part of our commitment to make it even easier for customers to connect low carbon technologies.”

Octopus head of flexibility Alex Schoch added: “Octopus has proven that by working together, DNOs and installers can bring heat pumps, EVs and solar into homes faster and cheaper, turbocharging the UK’s move to an electrified future.

“By upgrading fuses alongside clean tech installations, we are not only saving NGED resources, but also giving our customers back valuable time. It’s a win-win that highlights how critical collaboration is on our path to net zero.”