Free electricity sounds like a dream – who wouldn’t want a quick and easy way to save money on their energy bills?
It might come as a surprise, but there are legitimate ways to get free electricity. However, tampering with your meter is not one of them.
This article explains how to get free electricity – and the dangers involved if you try to do it illegally.
How Do People Get Free Electricity?
Free electricity often means electricity theft, but there are legal options that are available now and technologies that could make it available in the future.
The idea of ‘free electricity’ is challenging because energy production involves significant maintenance and infrastructure costs. Renewable sources like solar, wind, and hydroelectric power offer clean and abundant energy, but they still depend on support from traditional systems to keep them running smoothly. Exciting theoretical technologies like fusion power and space-based solar power could revolutionise energy production, but they face scientific and economic hurdles.
However, advancements in AI, robotics and materials science could hold the key to creating self-maintaining systems. So, supporting clean energy innovations is a crucial step towards a greener, more sustainable future – and more affordable, or maybe one day, free electricity – for us all.
In the meantime, energy suppliers are taking steps to keep costs down for customers. E.ON Next, for example, offered free electricity and waived standing charges over Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day for thousands of customers signed up to the Next Reward Days 12-month Fixed Tariff. EDF Energy also provided eight hours of free power on Christmas Day to customers who were signed up for the supplier’s Sunday Saver challenge.
Various energy suppliers also incentivise their customers to change the way they use their electricity by offering discounts or credit:
British Gas
British Gas' PeakSave Sundays scheme offers half-price electricity between 11am and 4pm every Sunday.
As long as you have a smart credit or prepayment meter that can send half-hourly meter readings, you can join the 650,000 others who have saved a combined £13 million through the scheme. British Gas customers can sign up to the scheme here. If you don’t have a smart meter and still want to sign up, British Gas will also install one for free in your home.
EDF Energy
If EDF customers cut down on using electrical devices during "peak hours", which tend to be between 4pm-7pm Monday to Friday, the supplier will give them free electricity on Sundays when demand to the energy grid tends to be lower.
It means if you cut back your usage by 40% during the week, you can earn up to 16 hours of free electricity to use on a Sunday. You can learn more here.
Octopus Energy
Octopus Energy customers who are signed up to the Octoplus free reward scheme can take part in hour-long free electricity sessions when wholesale prices fall below zero.
The day before each session, all customers with a smart meter and who pay by direct debit or smart prepay receive an alert. During the session, you can catch up on laundry or charge all your devices, and any extra “free” electricity consumed beyond normal usage will be credited back to your account. You can learn more here.
Ovo Energy
Ovo Energy’s Power Move scheme rewards customers for using energy at greener times of day. This winter, customers can earn up to £12 each month if they use 0-12% of their home's total electricity between 4-7pm, Monday to Friday. Summer peak times are typically later.
It could be as simple as waiting until after dinner to watch TV, or putting the dishwasher on before you go to work. You can sign up here.
Why "Free Electricity" Through Illegal Means is Dangerous
“Free” electricity comes at a high price. When bills start mounting up, cutting corners to save money could end up costing you your life.
Online video tutorials and step-by-step guides on how to get free electricity can make it seem like simple DIY. These tutorials never mention the danger. Even if someone thinks they know what they’re doing, electricity theft is never a victimless crime; it puts the people you love in danger.
Many criminals take advantage of vulnerable people. They rely on them not knowing the risks of meter tampering. They may even seem like real tradespeople offering a meter “fixing” service. The reality? They are criminals, putting your life at risk every day.
Messing with the wiring on your electricity meter increases the chances of shocks, burns and even fires. A fire can happen at any time, even when you’re not at home – and the effects can be devastating. It can happen in the workplace too. You can read the story of the employee who was tragically electrocuted in the shower after his employer tampered with his meter to get free electricity.
For more information about electricity theft, tips on how to avoid it, and more real-life stories, click here.
The Legal Consequences of Electricity Theft
Criminals found guilty of tampering with electricity meters to get “free electricity” can face heavy fines and up to five years in prison.
If you have a criminal record, you may struggle to find employment, secure housing, or travel abroad. Others who have committed electricity theft have suffered catastrophic damage to their property, and some have even lost their lives and taken the lives of people around them – all in the name of “free electricity.”
How to Lower Your Energy Costs
Deals are starting to make a return to the market, so it’s a good idea to run a comparison to see if switching to a new deal could save you money.
Prepayment meters can also be a useful tool for managing your energy costs, as they require you to pay for your energy in advance. You can read our guide to prepayment meters in 2025 here.
If you are becoming concerned about how you will pay your energy bills, contact your supplier. Your supplier may be able to come up with a payment plan which is easier to manage. You can request things like: a review of your debt repayments and payments, a reduction or a payment break, extra time to pay, and access to hardship funds.
You can also lower your energy costs by making small changes at home. Read our handy tips for saving energy here.
If you are struggling to pay your bills and need support, you can find useful links here.
How to Report Electricity Theft
There are legal ways to get free electricity. But the illegal ones are never worth the risk. Whether it’s in a house or a shared building, at work or at the shop down the road, tampering with meters to get free electricity puts lives in danger.
Electricity theft happens all around us. Learn how to spot the signs and report anything suspicious you see.
Sending a report is quick and 100% anonymous. It can help stop this crime from endangering you or anyone else.