Octopus Energy reviews: Give your feedback

savers_united

[Deleted User] said:

savers_united said:

niktheguru said:

savers_united said:

Question for those on Go / Go faster.

When I spoke with Octopus back in June and was moved to their Go tariff I was told that I could move every 30 days to a different smart tariff / time slots. 

I originally signed up to Go and then Go Faster 8.30 to 1.30 off peak, its been great but often not getting home until gone 10 I am missing an hour sometimes 2 hour EV charge time. So looking to move to either 10.30 or 11.30 start time. 

Now that the peak rate has changed does that mean I will lose my current peak rate of 15.91p kwh or do octopus honour your current peak rate and just change the 5 hour off peak window.

The tariff is fixed for 12mths but no mention when signing about losing the rate, only that you have to wait 30 days before you can change smart tariff / off peak window. 

As MWT says, if you change the time slot it counts as changing the tariff so you'll be put on a new 12 month fix using the current rates, so your peak rate will go up to the 20p region....probably not worth it to just move the timeslot an hour.

Thanks both for the reply, like you say not worth an extra 7p per kwh peak rate to gain just over an hour off peak charge a few days a week, I had a feeling it would mean a new tariff. 

I'll give them a ring next week or drop them a mail see what they say, it would be sensible to allow free movement of off peak time bands at current rates whilst inside your 12mth fix (I.e Does not reset the fix start date) provided they have slots available as I would assume that the contract has been purchased in advance, I am only shifting my off peak use which has remained at 5p even after the price changes. It does not make it very flexible if your circumstances change.

I doubt that is going to happen. Octopus Go Faster is a beta/trial tariff and they are using to look at usage patterns. Recently, a number of people have been prevented from going on to the 20.30 start. A month ago, I switched Go Faster usage times and I have had to accept the revised tariff (increased peak)  for another 12 months.

Do you have an EV? There is talk in here of them tightening up on those not using the tariff for EV charging, I use slightly more off peak currently and that is only charging the car 4 times a week for 3 hours at a time. 

[Deleted User]

From the latest Go Faster sign up page:

niktheguru

[Deleted User] said:

From the latest Go Faster sign up page:

Like I said earlier, i suspect this is to prevent all the avro customers who are solr'd to octopus signing up for go faster all at once, just to save some money for 5hrs and overwhelming them.
I guess, the alternative would have ben to make go faster less lucrative by increasing the peak rate to be a little higher than the competition, and keep an off peak rate at 5p.

[Deleted User]

@niktheguru  the screenshot comes from the Go faster invite that I signed off in mid August. It wasn't changed with Avro customers in mind. I suspect that the recent increase in the peak rate to c.26p/kWh did have SoLR customers in mind. My peak rate is 16.93p/kWh

MWT

There had been a significant increase in the Go/Go Faster tariffs on this forum which probably played some part it tightening up the process a few months ago, and the increase in peak rate was long overdue anyway as it had been cannibalising other Octopus tariffs for a little while.

QrizB

Dolor said:

@niktheguru  the screenshot comes from the Go faster invite that I signed off in mid August. It wasn't changed with Avro customers in mind. I suspect that the recent increase in the peak rate to c.26p/kWh did have SoLR customers in mind. My peak rate is 16.93p/kWh

It might be specific to Go Faster?

There was no form like that when I asked to switch to Octopus and join Go in mid-September.

Of course that may have changed in the past 2-3 weeks, much as the tariffs have.

niktheguru

I think its always been in the terms and conditions, even when I signed up at the beginning of the year. Its just a fact that they are semi-attempting to enforce it now. Seems fair enough.

@dolor @MWT - thanks. It seems a lot of it has gone under the radar regarding the EV, battery requirement. My point was I think they are more likely to "enforce" it now that they are getting a massive influx of customers through the solr process.  I agree the increase in peak rate was long overdue and was suprised they waited so long to increase it, as it was easily the best tariff in the market from a non small supplier. Now its probably more beneficial towards us EV users.
My guess is they probably shouldnt take too many people on go/go faster until they can more easily automate the "missed readings" from the smart meter which scuppers their monthly billing.

BargainBear

Has nobody else had the email invite to their new smart tariff "Intelligent Octopus", specifically aimed at EV owners? I received it 2 days ago offering me early access. It's a shame as I've yet to purchase an EV but am currently in the market for one.

The blurb reads that it offers "six hour low-cost night rate at 5p/kWh between 11:30pm and 5:30am. 

They also go on to say:

"We make sure that the car’s charged by that time. We’ll schedule your car to charge at times when renewables are abundant, reducing the strain on the grid and the need to burn dirty fossil fuels."

Sounds like a hybrid of the agile and go faster tariffs. I do love how Octopus appear to be massively ahead of the game on these things compared to the rest of the market.

masonic

niktheguru said:

@dolor @MWT - thanks. It seems a lot of it has gone under the radar regarding the EV, battery requirement. My point was I think they are more likely to "enforce" it now that they are getting a massive influx of customers through the solr process.  I agree the increase in peak rate was long overdue and was suprised they waited so long to increase it, as it was easily the best tariff in the market from a non small supplier. Now its probably more beneficial towards us EV users.
My guess is they probably shouldnt take too many people on go/go faster until they can more easily automate the "missed readings" from the smart meter which scuppers their monthly billing.

It won't be something unintentional. It makes sense to be relaxed when there are few on the tariff, and to tighten up when demand for the tariff starts to approach capacity. Agile is open to anyone, and suffers the same issues of HH reading failures, although clearly not an attractive tariff at today's wholesale prices.

BargainBear said:

Has nobody else had the email invite to their new smart tariff "Intelligent Octopus", specifically aimed at EV owners? I received it 2 days ago offering me early access. It's a shame as I've yet to purchase an EV but am currently in the market for one.

The blurb reads that it offers "six hour low-cost night rate at 5p/kWh between 11:30pm and 5:30am. 

They also go on to say:

"We make sure that the car’s charged by that time. We’ll schedule your car to charge at times when renewables are abundant, reducing the strain on the grid and the need to burn dirty fossil fuels."

Sounds like a hybrid of the agile and go faster tariffs. I do love how Octopus appear to be massively ahead of the game on these things compared to the rest of the market.

Yes, I've been invited. I would suggest that it would be more favourable for them than it is for the customer, but if you would like to minimise your carbon footprint then it is win-win. Perhaps a stepping stone on the road to them charging and discharging batteries to balance supply and demand.

Telegraph_Sam

If it's a matter of influencing people's environmental behaviour (re energy consumption) it would seem to me to be more sensible to use an "Intelligent" tariff carrot rather than a EV / non-EV stick.