Octopus Tracker

masonic

JohnPo said:

The reason I ask is that the  engineer who installed the smart electricity meter agreed with me that the physical distance and number of walls between the gas and electricity meter meant it was highly unlikely that a connection would be possible on the 'HAN'. At that time the gas was with a different supplier, so discussions about doing both meters that day irrelevant. Just trying to work out come June 2023 when my v3 tracker tariffs ends what happens next?

It might be worth asking them. It's pretty unlikely that simply posing the question would change the way they handle your end of tariff notification, and if they respond favourably you would have something to hold them to.

[Deleted User]

Griffindog said:

I have to weigh up whether I want (or can have) smart meters. I have an old PV system (no batteries, no export meter and still on the original, generous FIT). I was refused the original smart meters as incompatible, would newer smart meters be an option?

Smart meters are just meters. The only thing that will change is that you would be paid for the actual amount of solar exported rather than 50% deemed export. Only the supplier can say whether your location is suitable for smart meters.

Griffindog

[Deleted User] said:

Griffindog said:

I have to weigh up whether I want (or can have) smart meters. I have an old PV system (no batteries, no export meter and still on the original, generous FIT). I was refused the original smart meters as incompatible, would newer smart meters be an option?

Smart meters are just meters. The only thing that will change is that you would be paid for the actual amount of solar exported rather than 50% deemed export. Only the supplier can say whether your location is suitable for smart meters.

I currently have a usage electricity meter and a separate generation meter which is not logged with Octopus. I do not intend to move my solar to Octopus because it is worth far more to me on the FIT payment scheme about (60p/kwh). We only generate about 6kwh on a good day so it’s not worth our while giving up the FIT.

The early smart meters were confused by power used but not taken from the grid so were  deemed unsuitable for systems like mine.

bristolleedsfan

masonic said:

I don't believe anyone currently knows if this is a requirement for renewal, but if it is, it could lead to the situation where someone would have to get them installed and then join the back of the queue. Bear in mind that the situation could evolve between now and when you come to renew.

Quoted comment is from a senior member Octopus team that a customer posted onto a Facebook group at the end of March, screenshot is v3 renewal, 

“In terms of Tracker, customers no longer auto-renew onto Tracker. They instead roll onto Flexible Octopus and must contact us to go back onto it. Renewing customers are required to get a smart meter to rejoin the tariff, but don't have to wait on the waiting list. This came into place as of the 14th February.”

westv

My tracker doesn't expire until (I think) July. I assume things haven't changed so far as regards switching being pointless.

bristolleedsfan

masonic said:

I don't believe anyone currently knows if this is a requirement for renewal, but if it is, it could lead to the situation where someone would have to get them installed and then join the back of the queue. Bear in mind that the situation could evolve between now and when you come to renew.

Formal statement from Octopus posted via a customer on same facebook group a few days ago

"Unfortunately, at this moment in time we are not able to offer the Tracker tariff to all customers on request. The Tracker tariff remains a beta product, so it is really important that we get it right for our customers. Consequently, to ensure that this goal is met, we have paused onboarding to the tariff.

We have made some changes to the terms and conditions of the tariff recently meaning that in the future you will also require a smart meter to access this tariff. This is so we can ensure that the correct wholesale rates are applied when billing your account - with a smart meter, we are able to receive readings on a daily basis. There is a waiting list for the Tracker tariff which all customers with a smart meter are welcome to join. Please use the following link to register your interest and we will be able to notify you when we can move you over to the Tracker tariff: https://octopus.energy/smart/tracker/

 I must advise that the expected wait time is approximately six months "Past post - Going forward, we’ll allow 50 eligible customers from the waitlist onto Tracker each day. The current ETA for getting onto Tracker from the waitlist is 6 months. Why a waiting list? Tracker’s received a bit of interest recently because in the short term, wholesale prices are lower. But when sites like HotUKDeals promote it as a cheap tariff, many customers could be joining without realising it’s a beta product, built originally for engaged customers who can shift large amounts of their usage, with prices that could go up to 100p / KWh any time the market spikes.

 All staff have already been told multiple times to not put customers on this tariff with out adding them to the wait list unless they were already on it and their tariff comes to an end

In all honestly our hands are tied and we are trying our best to make this as fair as possible for our customers"

Doc_N

Griffindog said:

[Deleted User] said:

Griffindog said:

I have to weigh up whether I want (or can have) smart meters. I have an old PV system (no batteries, no export meter and still on the original, generous FIT). I was refused the original smart meters as incompatible, would newer smart meters be an option?

Smart meters are just meters. The only thing that will change is that you would be paid for the actual amount of solar exported rather than 50% deemed export. Only the supplier can say whether your location is suitable for smart meters.

I currently have a usage electricity meter and a separate generation meter which is not logged with Octopus. I do not intend to move my solar to Octopus because it is worth far more to me on the FIT payment scheme about (60p/kwh). We only generate about 6kwh on a good day so it’s not worth our while giving up the FIT.

The early smart meters were confused by power used but not taken from the grid so were  deemed unsuitable for systems like mine.

I'm in exactly the same position as you, I think, but I have now had the new SMETS2 meters fitted.  My FIT payments come from the company that I was with at the time the panels were installed back in 2010 and it's currently around 68.3p per unit.  The amount paid for energy put into the grid (calculated by estimating 50% of the amount generated) is a tiny 4.25p.

Theoretically, the new meters can mean that the amount paid for energy put into the grid can be calculated, rather than estimated, but there's no apparent link between the company making the FIT payments and my current supplier so they're not going to know what the meters show - I think. I imagine the 50% estimate will continue therefore.

What really matters though is the main 68.3p per unit FIT payment, and that's still going to be calculated by reference to the main generation meter, which is still there.

If I move my solar to Octopus they'll pay (I think) rather more than the 4.25p for anything put into the grid - possibly 15p - but they'll also know exactly how much is put in.  I suspect I use rather more than 50% myself, so it's a tricky calculation!

[Deleted User]

Doc_N said:

Griffindog said:

[Deleted User] said:

Griffindog said:

I have to weigh up whether I want (or can have) smart meters. I have an old PV system (no batteries, no export meter and still on the original, generous FIT). I was refused the original smart meters as incompatible, would newer smart meters be an option?

Smart meters are just meters. The only thing that will change is that you would be paid for the actual amount of solar exported rather than 50% deemed export. Only the supplier can say whether your location is suitable for smart meters.

I currently have a usage electricity meter and a separate generation meter which is not logged with Octopus. I do not intend to move my solar to Octopus because it is worth far more to me on the FIT payment scheme about (60p/kwh). We only generate about 6kwh on a good day so it’s not worth our while giving up the FIT.

The early smart meters were confused by power used but not taken from the grid so were  deemed unsuitable for systems like mine.

I'm in exactly the same position as you, I think, but I have now had the new SMETS2 meters fitted.  My FIT payments come from the company that I was with at the time the panels were installed back in 2010 and it's currently around 68.3p per unit.  The amount paid for energy put into the grid (calculated by estimating 50% of the amount generated) is a tiny 4.25p.

Theoretically, the new meters can mean that the amount paid for energy put into the grid can be calculated, rather than estimated, but there's no apparent link between the company making the FIT payments and my current supplier so they're not going to know what the meters show - I think. I imagine the 50% estimate will continue therefore.

What really matters though is the main 68.3p per unit FIT payment, and that's still going to be calculated by reference to the main generation meter, which is still there.

If I move my solar to Octopus they'll pay (I think) rather more than the 4.25p for anything put into the grid - possibly 15p - but they'll also know exactly how much is put in.  I suspect I use rather more than 50% myself, so it's a tricky calculation!

You can move your FIT contract to any supplier that is in the scheme and your payments will remain the same.

You have the right to forgo your deemed export payments in favour of SEG. You RETAIN the generation payment for every unit recorded on your solar generation meter.

If you move to SEG for export payments, then you will be paid for every kWh exported to the Grid as recorded by the smart meter. 

If you are Octopus Flexible tariff you will be paid 15p/kWh for exported energy. Or, you can elect to go on to Octopus Agile Outgoing tariff which pays a variable amount per 30minutes.

If you have PV Solar and a battery, then you can switch to Octopus Flux that offers export prices of up to 38p/kWh. 

Whatever you decide, you can switch back to FIT scheme exports after 12 months. I repeat none of the above has any impact on your generation payments.

FWIW, my array is not covered by the FIT scheme so I have rely on SEG payments. Over the past 7 days - both import and export - my electricity bill has a credit of £18.32.

In sum, it is worth looking at what works best for your array and usage.

pfpf

i'm on the latest tracker. i have a  look each morning to check the price/trend. 3p reduction for Electric for tomorrow to 15.89. i know Gas isn't traded over weekends and we get the same price over the weekend but electricity does change. whats happened for such a big price change? its' the biggest one day change iv'e seen so far either way.

Northern_Wanderer

bristolleedsfan said:

masonic said:

I don't believe anyone currently knows if this is a requirement for renewal, but if it is, it could lead to the situation where someone would have to get them installed and then join the back of the queue. Bear in mind that the situation could evolve between now and when you come to renew.

Quoted comment is from a senior member Octopus team that a customer posted onto a Facebook group at the end of March, screenshot is v3 renewal, 

“In terms of Tracker, customers no longer auto-renew onto Tracker. They instead roll onto Flexible Octopus and must contact us to go back onto it. Renewing customers are required to get a smart meter to rejoin the tariff, but don't have to wait on the waiting list. This came into place as of the 14th February.”

I believe my V3 Tracker 1 year term will end in July. With regards to staying on it and smart meter requirements to do so, what happens in the following scenario? I do not currently have any smart meters. I only have gas on Tracker with Octopus. My electricity is with a different supplier. In any case, due to distance between gas and electric meters, it's highly unlikely that a smart gas meter would be able to communicate with a smart electric meter. Does this mean that I won't qualify for Tracker in future? Or is there an exception in this case?