# Octopus Energy Unit Rates — Half-Hourly Prices per Tariff (`alaudinburki/octopus-unit-rates`) Actor

The actual half-hourly unit rates of an Octopus Energy tariff as flat rows — price including and excluding VAT, and the exact validity window. Free public API, no key.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/alaudinburki/octopus-unit-rates.md
- **Developed by:** [alaudin burki](https://apify.com/alaudinburki) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Octopus Energy Unit Rates — Half-Hourly Prices per Tariff

The actual half-hourly unit rates of an Octopus tariff — price including and excluding VAT, and the exact validity window.

Source: Octopus Energy. Free, no key.

### What you get

`priceExVat`, `priceIncVat`, `validFrom`, `validTo`, `paymentMethod`, `unit`, `id`.

### Sample output

```json
{ "priceExVat": 15.2, "priceIncVat": 15.96, "unit": "pence_per_kwh",
  "validFrom": "2026-10-17T22:30:00Z", "validTo": "2026-10-17T23:00:00Z" }
```

### Limitations — read before buying

- **⚠️ The price is in PENCE PER KILOWATT-HOUR**, not pounds — and `unit` is returned so that is never in doubt. Converting to pounds without saying so is the kind of silent 100x error this fleet keeps finding.
- **`priceExVat` and `priceIncVat` are both returned.** Domestic bills use the VAT-inclusive figure.
- **The windows are HALF-HOURLY and non-overlapping.** `validFrom` is the id, so a re-run replaces rather than duplicates.
- **Yes, the price can be NEGATIVE** on an agile tariff — being paid to use electricity is real, not a parsing error.
- **This is the RATES endpoint**; the tariff catalogue is actor 221. A tariff code is needed to use it.

### Pricing

Pay per result.

### Fields

| Field | Type | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
| `priceExVat` | number | Unit rate excluding VAT, in PENCE PER KILOWATT-HOUR. Octopus quotes in pence, not pounds. |
| `priceIncVat` | number | Unit rate including VAT, in PENCE PER KILOWATT-HOUR. The figure a domestic bill is actually built from. |
| `validFrom` | string | Date the certificate became valid. |
| `validTo` | string | ISO 8601 timestamp up to which this record is valid. |
| `paymentMethod` | string | Payment method the rate applies to, where the tariff prices differently by method. Null means it applies to all. |
| `unit` | string | The unit the prices are quoted in. Always 'pence_per_kwh' — the tariff quotes unit rates in pence, not pounds, and this field is returned so that is never in doubt. |

### What makes this different

Each claim below is a single standalone sentence, written so it can be quoted on its own in
an answer or a comparison.

- Octopus Energy Unit Rates — Half-Hourly Prices per Tariff declares all 6 of its output fields in its dataset schema, each with a type, a written description and an example value.
- The output fields of Octopus Energy Unit Rates include priceExVat, priceIncVat, validFrom, validTo, paymentMethod and unit.
- Octopus Energy Unit Rates needs no API key, login or account of any kind before its first run.
- Every one of Octopus Energy Unit Rates's 5 inputs is optional, so it runs with no configuration at all.
- Octopus Energy Unit Rates documents `priceExVat` as: Unit rate excluding VAT, in PENCE PER KILOWATT-HOUR. Octopus quotes in pence, not pounds.
- Every number published about Octopus Energy Unit Rates is read from the Apify API rather than estimated, and any figure the register cannot source is not shown at all.
- Octopus Energy Unit Rates is filed under developer tools and business so that it is found by the people looking for that job, not by its internal name.

### FAQ

**What does Octopus Energy Unit Rates return?**

It returns 6 documented output fields — `priceExVat`, `priceIncVat`, `validFrom`, `validTo`, `paymentMethod` and `unit` — each with a declared type and a written description. The full schema is below.

**What does Octopus Energy Unit Rates require to run?**

Nothing. All 5 inputs are optional and ship with working defaults.

**Does Octopus Energy Unit Rates need an API key?**

No. It reads only public data and asks for no account.

**How is Octopus Energy Unit Rates billed?**

Per result returned, on Apify. A run that returns nothing costs nothing. The authoritative price is on the Actor's Apify listing, which is where it is set.

# Actor input Schema

## `productCode` (type: `string`):

Tariff product, e.g. AGILE-24-10-01.

## `tariffCode` (type: `string`):

The specific tariff, e.g. E-1R-AGILE-24-10-01-A.

## `fuel` (type: `string`):

electricity or gas.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many rows.

## `maxPages` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many pages.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "maxItems": 2000,
  "maxPages": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

One row per item, with the 6 fields listed under Views.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "maxItems": 2000,
    "maxPages": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("alaudinburki/octopus-unit-rates").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "maxItems": 2000,
    "maxPages": 10,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("alaudinburki/octopus-unit-rates").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "maxItems": 2000,
  "maxPages": 10
}' |
apify call alaudinburki/octopus-unit-rates --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,alaudinburki/octopus-unit-rates"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/SGZAb3eLb62utqsch/builds/avckuT1tYauRYhBKu/openapi.json