Octopus Energy reviews: Give your feedback

masonic

Telegraph_Sam said:

A quick back of a fag packet calculation seemed to show that for me the Go Faster rate would work out annually a little more than what Octopus are estimating my annual cost on Tracker, as shown on their latest invoice, which I suppose is anticipating a drop later in the year compared with present prices. Could be that when everything pans out there is not a huge difference.

That estimate seems to have been based on an unprecedented fall in prices of last year due to the first lockdown. So far you've seen considerably higher prices, but if you think wholesale prices will fall back to summer 2020 levels then there would be no reason to change. But I don't personally believe the Go prices will stay as low as they are for much longer - there has been a clear cross-subsidisation from all of Octopus' other tariffs to those on Go over the last 6 months or so. I imagine v2 of the tariff with a higher standard rate is on the cards.

Telegraph_Sam said:

The 0.1293 / kwh (inc VAT?) plus £91.25 quoted above by Masonic must come from somewhere, even if I ignore usage shifts for rough calculation purposes.

Yes that price is including VAT. It is for the NE region and obtained from the energy-stats dashboard and verified on the Octopus list of tariffs.

[Deleted User]

I hesitate to post this but I would hate people to think that SMETS2 meters and Octopus ToU tariffs are ‘fit and forget’. Sadly, this isn’t the case. I am now on my second set of SMETS2 meters in 2 years. The first set were replaced because the electricity meter was picking up reactive loads, and the gas meter failed after a firmware update. My present electricity meter - along with a number of others across all suppliers- has had periods when it has failed to populate the XML file that Octopus needs for half hour usage billing. I lost 3 weeks of data: fortunately, the daily meter reading has not been affected. The problem is again attributed to a firmware update rolled out by the meter manufacturer.

Octopus ToU tariffs - including Go and Go Faster - are single register even though they have peak and off peak periods. Moreover, Octopus retrieves data via a third-party Adaptor and this has in the past been problematical. That said, the data flow to online accounts has become more consistent. The mighty Octopus Kraken which appears to be the technology platform that a number of UK suppliers are now buying in to, will not bill if just one by 48 half hour daily usage packets is missing.

All that said, the smart team at Octopus are excellent at dealing with these issues.

bristolleedsfan

The quickest way to find rates outside of 5p kwh period for Octopus Go   Find your day rate and standing charge

Telegraph_Sam

Useful link. What about Go Faster? There is obviously some communality between the two.

masonic

Telegraph_Sam said:

Useful link. What about Go Faster? There is obviously some communality between the two.

The peak price is the same for Go and all Go Faster variants. All that is different is the time, duration and unit price of the cheap period.

niktheguru

Telegraph_Sam said:

Useful link. What about Go Faster? There is obviously some communality between the two.

Sam if you are genuinely thinking of go faster or even go, I would suggest you apply for smart meters ASAP.
being on go faster at the moment is genuinely an easy decision. The unit rates are much less at the moment than tracker. My advice would be that unless you are a very low user it would make sense to change to go faster.....then if the tracker rate actually goes down and beats it you can quickly change your tariff back to tracker with no exit fee. You would also get very accurate usage data for your energy. I find it fascinating to have my half hour usage at the touch of a button.

Telegraph_Sam

Hi Nik, advice appreciated. I have a psycho aversion to Smart meters (you might have guessed) so it's a case of guesstimating just what the savings - over a cycle - compared with Tracker could amount to and then deciding if it's worth it. Up to now the jury's out whilst I try to do the research. What rough calculations I've done seem to indicate that for me the savings would be less than anticipated. But I keep my eye on this forum ..

niktheguru

I very much doubt your savings would be minimal. I suspect tracker is overestimating it’s savings, and with tracker being so speculative (like taking a punt on the stock market) it’s not very reliable to base savings on their estimates. Their graphs are very optimistic. They predicted my unit rate would average out at 14p last month but it ended up being nearer 17p. Tho I agree if you are hell bent against a smart meter and want to stick with octopus then tracker is probably your best bet from their standard tariffs.

it will be interesting to see what your 3 month average costs are compared to the estimates it gave you. Keep us posted.

niktheguru

Hey guys. Anyone know how to get the MAC ID for the octopus smart meter? Can’t seem to find it. (Need it for signing up to n3rgy website) on my previous smets1 it was visible on the ihd menus. However on the chameleon ihd6 it’s nowhere to be found. Any help appreciated.

Arthurarthur52

Went to octopus from
ovo and received the swop incentive. We use about 60 or electric and 10 of gas a month. Very frugal lights all on hue avoided 4-7pm and washing machining amd dishwasher on remote plugs. 

Then took our business account to them amd got double incentives so both accounts nicely in credit. The electric is a smart meter gas traditional as lowri beck for Ovo didn’t plan enough time. 

I’m happy won’t suit anyone but nothing ever will.