Octopus Energy reviews: Give your feedback

niktheguru

masonic said:

This illustrates the importance of at home charging, for which innovative electricity tariffs form a cornerstone.

Absolutely. Though I know a lot of people who solely charge their EV at their workplace, and it can be problematic for people who don't have driveways or live in flats to get chargepoints, though there are some innovative solutions that try and alleviate this (e.g. the slow lamp-post chargers etc)

niktheguru

Telegraph_Sam said:

Though this (vital?) distinction was not made in the Octopus survey

I'm not sure I follow the point you're trying to make here Sam? What distinction were they supposed to make?

Are you unhappy that it wasn't clear octopus go faster is aimed at EV users? or are you unhappy about EV vehicles in general?

It really is quite simple.
Octopus go and go faster have always been primarily aimed at EV users who charge their cars at home, trying to offset their charging to off peak times where it is less of a burden on the grid where there is a surplus of energy provided cheaply as an incentive.

Octopus were not enforcing the uptake of this tariff to only EV users, and non-ev users realised that with the 8:30 start time on go faster, it was infact an excellent tariff that would benefit most consumers.....particularly as even their peak rates didn't increase at the same speed as competitor tariffs, making it a compelling tariff for all but very low electricity users. (as the peak was often lower than most other companies normal unit rates)

Octopus are now seemingly going to be a bit more stringent on who is offered this tariff. Its as simple as that. There's no hidden agenda, no misleading, no need for them to do anything else?
With the peak rate going up to the level of the competition, the benefits of go/gofaster tariffs to non-ev users is less pronounced (but there still still be a slight saving), however to EV users the tariff will still be compelling.

The consensus is you're safe if youre mid tariff at the moment. When it comes to renewal after a year who knows. They may just let you renew, they may ask for evidence of an EV. Most of us have a good few months before having to face this. Its really a mute point, as there is nothing else on the market worth looking at in comparison at the moment.

Telegraph_Sam

It's not for me to say what conditions Octopus set (and enforce) in their T's &  C's, likewise what data they gather in their survey. But if they are aiming at high volume consumers with this tariff it seems strange that they exclude the home or away from home charging dimension from the questions. Unless the aims sre different.

[Deleted User]

Octopus could decide to offer a cheap tariff to homes heated with a heat pump because it might suit the Company’s long-term heat pump development and marketing agenda. Go and Go Faster are in this category.

 The big decision going forward for those who do not own an EV etc, is whether the high peak price of Go/Go Faster will result in a higher annual cost than other tariffs on the market? The peak price has nearly doubled since May.

worrywart_3

I was told by octopus it was the best tarrif for me irrespective of the fact I don’t have an ev, I have en electric everhot that uses a
lot of electric, I wasn’t asked to fill out a survey so that’s a moot point. I was just transferred to it it in the basis of a phone call.

niktheguru

Telegraph_Sam said:

It's not for me to say what conditions Octopus set (and enforce) in their T's &  C's, likewise what data they gather in their survey. But if they are aiming at high volume consumers with this tariff it seems strange that they exclude the home or away from home charging dimension from the questions. Unless the aims sre different.

I suspect (though its just a guess) that they were just trying to keep it simple, hence targetting one easy part of the market....i.e. EV drivers who find it easy to move their usage. Remember, it is still a beta/test tariff and not a fully fledged final tariff (even though it may feel like it)

Telegraph_Sam

"Octopus could decide to offer a cheap tariff to homes heated with a heat pump because it might suit the Company’s long-term heat pump development and marketing agenda. Go and Go Faster are in this category."
I looked at heat pumps recently but concluded that on balance the case for changing was not overwhelming. But I did not relate this to the GF tariff nor can I remember answering any survey question in connection with heat pumps. Is this something for the future perhaps?

[Deleted User]

Telegraph_Sam said:

"Octopus could decide to offer a cheap tariff to homes heated with a heat pump because it might suit the Company’s long-term heat pump development and marketing agenda. Go and Go Faster are in this category."
I looked at heat pumps recently but concluded that on balance the case for changing was not overwhelming. But I did not relate this to the GF tariff nor can I remember answering any survey question in connection with heat pumps. Is this something for the future perhaps?

Octopus Go and Go Faster are tariffs targeted specifically at EV owners: there is a clue in the use of the word Go. What I am suggesting is that we could well see Octopus releasing some more tariffs which are aimed at specific groups of customers: for example, those who own heat pumps.

Telegraph_Sam

Everything is possible particularly at present but I ask myself what particular attributes heat pump people (or any other target group) would  have in order to justify creating a tariff just for them?  The cynic in me says it would be purely for marketing reasons alongside other tariffs for say microwave oven owners and the like  . Speculation ..

masonic

Telegraph_Sam said:

Everything is possible particularly at present but I ask myself what particular attributes heat pump people (or any other target group) would  have in order to justify creating a tariff just for them?  The cynic in me says it would be purely for marketing reasons alongside other tariffs for say microwave oven owners and the like  . Speculation ..

They are building their brand as the supplier of choice for users who adopt these greener products. It is probably a pure coincidence that an EV will tend to consumer significantly more energy than anything else in the home. Heat pumps would be a good second option to branch out with, although they are not really suited to load shifting.