No such thing as a free lunch?

 I’ve never been treated to a day out by my utility supplier, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Monday’s Energy Tech Summit in London. 

But the draw of Yuval Noah Harari and Hannah Fry was too strong. Plus I’ve always liked what Octopus Energy do.

So I entered the ballot. And guess what?

I won a pair of tickets.

Big names, big ideas, big tech and a free lunch.

What’s not to like?

But do you know what really stood out to me?

Octopus brought 3,000 fellow customers.

To an energy conference.

Can you imagine British Gas or EDF pulling that off?

No, me neither.

That’s not just customer engagement. That’s a proper community.

Built on shared purpose, bold thinking, and a fair bit of emotion. Because when people feel something, they tend to stick around. They talk. They show up.

And so did the speakers.

Yuval Noah Harari in conversation with Stephen Fry, discussing whether #AI should be allowed to open a bank account.

Hannah Fry talking about pigeons who can detect cancer, and rats who get younger as they get older.

Rory Sutherland doing what only Rory does.

Damon Hill and Quentin Willson talking about future of #EVs and why there's still space for ICE in motorsport.

Al Gore beaming in from the States. Chris Hadfield. Professor Brian Cox.

And Greg Jackson - Octopus CEO and clearly a man on a mission.

But what really made the headlines for me?

A world-first, announced right there at the event.

A perfect example of joined-up thinking, and completely in keeping with the theme of the day.

BYD x Octopus Energy x Zaptec

An all-in-one EV bundle for under £300 a month, including:

• A leased BYD Dolphin

• A wallbox charger

• And free charging, every month.


And I don’t mean a tenner’s credit or some vague green tariff.

I mean proper, no-cost charging, thanks to vehicle-to-grid (V2G) tech.

You plug in when you get home. Octopus sells spare energy from your car’s battery back to the grid at peak times. Then recharges your car overnight when it’s cheaper.

You don’t lift a finger. But you’ll feel the benefit.

An energy company that wants to charge you less?

Now there’s a thought.

It’s smart, joined-up, and genuinely useful.

Not just for drivers, but for the energy system as a whole.

And it’s totally in line with the Octopus brand.

Feeling full from their free lunch (hats off to the caterers, by the way), every single member of that diverse, energised community will head out and spread the word - far more powerfully than any polished TV ad ever could.

It’s a sharp reminder that when your brand stands for something, and shows up for it, consistently and authentically, people connect.

And when people connect, communities grow.

And communities are valuable.

So yes, it’s always worth offering them a free lunch (and a free copy of Nexus, by Yuval Noah Harari - yay!).

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