Octopus: difference in price between standard rate and Economy 7 day rate

Spanishomelette

Firstly, I will hold my hands up and confess to being very lazy about providing meter readings to Octopus, but in mitigation it is a nightmare to do with a dodgy back and a meter which is hidden very inaccessibly within a cupboard under the stairs!

Our combined gas and electricity cost with Octopus (and previously Flow Energy) had been £74 since January 2019.  This all seemed to work well, with the normal negative balance in the winter and positive balance in the summer.  However, when I entered a meter reading in January this year, I was unpleasantly surprised to find we owed £474, which was way higher compared to previous winters.  I paid an additional £200 at that point, but Octopus still put our monthly payment up from £74 to £162.  I'm not arguing with this - I know it needs to be paid!

This situation made me look in more detail at our gas and electricity bills since being with Flow/Octopus, and doing a bit of (overdue!) research.  Gas doesn't seem to be a problem, and our consumption has remained steady over the last three or four years.

However, our electricity is on an Economy 7 tariff and I can see that over the last year our consumption has been 5384 kWh day and 892 kWh night, so less than 17% used at night.  I contacted Octopus to ask if it was possible to go onto a single rate tariff.  They came back and said they could change us to their "Flat Eco7" tariff at 16.29p/kwh, against an Economy 7 day rate of 17.71p/kwh and night rate of 10.41p/kwh.  The standing charge is the same for both tariffs at 21.67p per day.

Although we would save a small amount of money by changing to the single rate tariff based on last year's figures, our daytime consumption during November, December and January was for some reason that we can't fathom two to three times what it has been for those months in previous years (averaging £115 a month compared to £45/£55 a month).  It has returned to its "normal" level for March.

Does it seem worth changing tariff as there is so little difference in unit cost in daytime rate vs single rate?  Or does Octopus's "Flat Eco7" tariff not reflect the difference in unit price between Economy 7 day rate and single rate we might receive from another supplier?

niktheguru

Best thing you can do seeing as you know your consumption is to put the annual consumption for gas into one of the comparison sites (switch with which or  citizens advice switching tool)

Do 2 comparisons, one with your eco 7 data (day and night) and one saying you have a standard meter (use the total value here)
See what the best prices for electricity are. compare overall annual price (not how much you can save) between the standard price and the eco 7 price.

Now compare the best deals unit rate and standing charge with the ones octopus have quoted you.

It is very unlikely given you have gas and such a limited night use that eco 7 will be beneficial for you. You need to get onto a single rate tariff and a cheap one at that.

Also, if you feel you just want to stay with octopus I would suggest you ask them for a smart meter. Your scenario is perfect for it given your meter is in a difficult place that isn't easy to get to for regular meter readings. Get them to change your meter and then your readings will be uploaded automatically, which you can keep an eye on using the IHD device (far easier on the back) and as a result you wont be stung with catchup bills in the future. Also during that meter change you can request for it to be put onto a single rate mode. You may then want to look at their octopus go tariff which offers a cheap rate for 4hrs at night, but more importantly the day rate seems to be lower than their standard day rate at present (therefore much bigger savings!)

Good luck.

Spanishomelette

Thank you niktheguru.

I have done as you suggested, and my goodness, doesn't that open a whole other can of worms!

I'm now thinking we would do much better with separate gas and electricity suppliers, but am not sure how easy it would be to change given we have an Economy 7 meter.  What I have found, though, is that the "flat Eco7" rate offered by Octopus instead of our current Economy 7 tariff isn't much of a deal, sadly.

With regard to the smart meter, we had an appointment to have one fitted the week we went into the first lockdown last year.  Having checked again with them, the answer is that there are no appointments available in our area, but that we will be "added to the list", which doesn't fill me with hope.

niktheguru

Undoubtedly you will pay much less with smaller suppliers using different suppliers for each fuel.

A lot of suppliers will offer a single rate tariff despite you having eco7 (they just add both readings and then charge you for overall use) but not all companies will offer this. (So best to check with them direct before switching)

If you want to change your meters or go smart meter route its better to do it with your current supplier and then switch after its installed and working. Octopus are usually pretty good with it. Tell them you want to move to a smart tariff and you should get priority. (Their octopus go tariff is 14.5p in the daytime and 5p for 4hrs at night- so better than your current) octopus are coming to do mine after about 4 weeks of having switched to them. (But i do live in the south east)
Best to call them rather than email.