Octopus Energy reviews: Give your feedback

savers_united

Reality is there could be a host of reasons, the Go tariffs are still in development so expect tweaks along the way as they fine tune it to suit whatever outcome they are looking to achieve and as the markets change, I.e EV's become the norm, heat pumps become the norm. 

I get the arguments about allowing non EV owners to use the tariff, but ultimately it seems that Octopus are trying to keep it exclusively for EV owners, and none of us really know the reason behind that decision.

It could be due to capacity and limited slots that they try best to maximise, it could be that they have an annual target for load shifting (again good PR) but allowing an increased number of non EV customers onto the tariff means they will not meet that target. 

They have to assume that every customers on the tariff is an EV owner, and will load shift an average x amount per annum, each slot allows for this, so when that time slot falls well short I guess they need a rethink on how to maximise the available time they have. 

We just do not know, maybe they have agreements to take x amount of electricity from the grid between x time and x time each day and are just not hitting that target. 

If you do not own an EV then there have always been tariffs with lower off peak rates such as E7 that you can sign up to if you use more electricity during the night. 

Looking at it form another angle I could also understand the frustration of an EV owning customer being told they can not have a certain slot even though they meet all the criteria because it's been loaded with non EV customers, so there does need to be a level of control otherwise it just becomes a free for all and may as well be advertised as such. 

MWT

Certainly there is a valid argument that since Octopus will have hedged the slots on the basis of an EV owner charging in them, too many non-EV owners could result in under utilisation of the hedged amounts...

Telegraph_Sam

MWT said:

Certainly there is a valid argument that since Octopus will have hedged the slots on the basis of an EV owner charging in them, too many non-EV owners could result in under utilisation of the hedged amounts...

Sorry I don't quite follow that.

Speaking for myself we have to conclude that we are in a world of speculation.

Are there limits on capacity (which would restrict the kWh's available - at certain times or possibly all the time) - to all customers including (genuine) EV owners? If there aren't any then discussion is pointless, bumping does not arise and no one need get upset..Non-EV owners have no effect on meeting targets, in fact they contribute towards meeting them!

If there are (limits), is there a valid case for EV owners being given preference over non EV owners? What form do these limits take? If load shifting is the name of the game it should make no difference, but If Octopus have a stake in EV's that would explain them being at the top of any pecking order.

It is indeed interesting to speculate - to the point where there are more thoughts, hypotheses, deliberations and simulations devoted to innovative tariffs in the MSE forum than in the Octopus Marketing Dept itself!

[As an aside I used to think of the MSE Octopus forum as being one of the most active with 180 pages no less to its credit. But those who follow the Neon Reef and Avro threads must accept that in comparison with these this thread is in the slow lane ..]

Since being offered a fully funded heat pump installation by Co Durham CC, now withdrawn, I have heard distinctly mixed reviews of the costs : benefits of these systems.  There ought to be a forum somewhere where one can gather first hand views such as are expressed in this thread.

MWT

Telegraph_Sam said:

Sorry I don't quite follow that.

When Octopus hedge the slots they effectively commit to purchasing a certain amount of electricity in those slots, they then estimate the number of customers they need on the tariff to provide the consumption they have committed to for those slots.

If the customers on the tariff are not actually EV owners then the odds are they are not going to consume the predicted amount of energy and Octopus run the risk of having committed to purchase more than they actually need...

As you say, it is pure guess work and speculation but when you offer a tariff to a particular cohort with consumption expectations based on that cohort, it is at the very least, unhelpful if people are trying to bend the rules, instead of just accepting that this tariff is not aimed at them...

Telegraph_Sam

That implies that the number of customers per slot is limited??

masonic

Telegraph_Sam said:

That implies that the number of customers per slot is limited??

Yes the number of customers per slot is limited. They tell you this when you sign up and it's why they can't guarantee to place you on the slot you request and may offer you a different one.

mikeyorkie10

Re Octopus account payments... FYI : whilst my new DD details are showing on my account, I wasn't sure when the first payment would be taken.  Sent Octopus a Twitter DM at 07:41 yesterday and had a reply by 08:25 yesterday - very responsive!! Turns out my first DD payment will not go out until November and so I felt it prudent to make a one-off payment as my credit balance with Avro wasn't that large.  Hope this is useful info...

MWT

Telegraph_Sam said:

That implies that the number of customers per slot is limited??

If you want to remain within the amount of energy that has been hedged then slots = hedged energy/predicted consumption

You can't just get more customers into the slots at short notice so if the customers you have undershoot the predicted usage (...because they don't really have an EV) then you have a problem...

If you start adjusting the prediction in the belief that the customers do all have an EV when they don't then you are working with bad data and getting false results, hence my comments about this being at least in part a data quality issue as well.

Umiamz

mikeyorkie10 said:

Re Octopus account payments... FYI : whilst my new DD details are showing on my account, I wasn't sure when the first payment would be taken.  Sent Octopus a Twitter DM at 07:41 yesterday and had a reply by 08:25 yesterday - very responsive!! Turns out my first DD payment will not go out until November and so I felt it prudent to make a one-off payment as my credit balance with Avro wasn't that large.  Hope this is useful info...

They always send you a reminder email a few days before your DD gets taken.

savers_united

Telegraph_Sam said:

MWT said:

Certainly there is a valid argument that since Octopus will have hedged the slots on the basis of an EV owner charging in them, too many non-EV owners could result in under utilisation of the hedged amounts...

Sorry I don't quite follow that.

Speaking for myself we have to conclude that we are in a world of speculation.

Are there limits on capacity (which would restrict the kWh's available - at certain times or possibly all the time) - to all customers including (genuine) EV owners? If there aren't any then discussion is pointless, bumping does not arise and no one need get upset..Non-EV owners have no effect on meeting targets, in fact they contribute towards meeting them!

If there are (limits), is there a valid case for EV owners being given preference over non EV owners? What form do these limits take? If load shifting is the name of the game it should make no difference, but If Octopus have a stake in EV's that would explain them being at the top of any pecking order.

It is indeed interesting to speculate - to the point where there are more thoughts, hypotheses, deliberations and simulations devoted to innovative tariffs in the MSE forum than in the Octopus Marketing Dept itself!

[As an aside I used to think of the MSE Octopus forum as being one of the most active with 180 pages no less to its credit. But those who follow the Neon Reef and Avro threads must accept that in comparison with these this thread is in the slow lane ..]

Since being offered a fully funded heat pump installation by Co Durham CC, now withdrawn, I have heard distinctly mixed reviews of the costs : benefits of these systems.  There ought to be a forum somewhere where one can gather first hand views such as are expressed in this thread.

As I don't think any of us work for Octopus decision making dept we are just guessing at the reasons. 

I just think that you have to accept that if you do not own an EV this tariff is not for you (whatever the reasons are), Octopus could not be any clearer about this now when you sign up.
Back to my comparison with bank accounts in an earlier post, some state you must earn x amount annually and pay in x amount monthly. 
People who do not meet that criteria will look at alternative accounts. 
There are insurance policies that exclude certain people I.E. Saga, so people accept its not for them.

I don't really see why it's any different here, Octopus set the criteria, you either meet that or you don't (You can look at ways of circumventing the rules, but I am sure Octopus could easily make a decision on your previous years load shifting at renewel). The reasons for the criteria don't really matter, it's a business decision. Yes it's an interesting debate to speculate why, but it's a decision they have taken. It's not the only tariff available you have choices elsewhere.

The timed slots on Go Faster are limited in number, hence why I don't think you can any longer get an 8.30 start, but let's say it was envisaged that each slot would consume annually x amount of Mwh on the assumption it was loaded with 90% EV owners, if that balance tips so that there are only 70% EV owners that consumption will be down, also remember that many EV owners will not only be charging their vehicles but using those hours for other high power activities.

Go has been running for a few years now so they now have data that they did not have a few years ago at launch, this can help guide policy.
In recent months with rising prices even the Go tariffs peak rate were very attractive and many I guess moved to them with no Intention of ever making use of the off peak tariff, so you also now have people on Go who load shift little to nothing. That is not good, and remember it's is a 12mth fixed tariff so there has to be hedging involved to be able to fix a tariff.

We can debate all day, the facts are they now only want genuine EV owners on the tariff going forward, whatever the rights or wrongs that is the new policy and within a year they should achieve that goal.

It will be interesting though to see what happens at renewel for existing customers, both EV & Non-EV