Octopus Tracker

[Deleted User]

Just read that Octopus has………. “reintroduced its ‘Tracker’ tariff, allowing consumers to closely monitor and adjust their energy consumption in response to wholesale prices.”

For Tracker the above statement is slightly misleading. Tracker offers a daily unit price based on the wholesale price. This is what I was charged for gas last month:

Conversely, Octopus Agile offers unit prices that change every 30 minutes:

Yes, you can save money on both tariffs -particularly, Agile if you change your usage habits. That said, these tariffs are for pro-active consumers who are prepared to monitor price changes constantly. These tariffs can see a rapid increase if wholesale prices rise unexpectedly. They are bit like ‘stocks and shares’ if you like.

SJMALBA

If you haven't already seen these, these pages are a good place to start:

https://octopus.energy/smart/tracker/

https://octopus.energy/tracker-faqs/

pchelpman

Thanks guys.

Will take those on board but, that said, I haven't the time to dedicate to price watching nor am I someone who takes risks 'stocks & shares' style. 

Also we don't change out energy usage habits at all really.

[Deleted User]

pchelpman said:

Thanks guys.

Will take those on board but, that said, I haven't the time to dedicate to price watching nor am I someone who takes risks 'stocks & shares' style. 

Also we don't change out energy usage habits at all really.

My further observation is that consumers join these tariffs too late in the day, and leave the moment that prices start to rise. This is why Octopus has said that switching out of Tracker might take up to 2 weeks. There is also a caveat that there is no return to the tariff for another 9 months.

I have been on Tracker since February last year, and I have enjoyed a gas price capped at 6p/kWh since then. My price today is 3.51p/kWh but with drone attacks on Moscow today who knows what Tracker prices might be next week?

pchelpman

Who indeed? Mystic Meg maybe.

Doc_N

[Deleted User] said:

pchelpman said:

Thanks guys.

Will take those on board but, that said, I haven't the time to dedicate to price watching nor am I someone who takes risks 'stocks & shares' style. 

Also we don't change out energy usage habits at all really.

My further observation is that consumers join these tariffs too late in the day, and leave the moment that prices start to rise. This is what Octopus has said that switching out of Tracker might take up to 2 weeks. There is also a caveat that there is no return to the tariff for another 9 months.

I have been on Tracker since February last year, and I have enjoyed a gas price capped at 6p/kWh since then. My price today is 3.51p/kWh but with drone attacks on Moscow today who knows what Tracker prices might be next week?

All of that is very true. Tracker has been excellent for the early adopters. It’s a much more finely balanced decision for those invited to sign up on 1 July. Two weeks on £1/30p may not matter too much if you’ve got a bit put by, but in a large house you could be talking an extra few hundred pounds.

scobie

I’ve just signed up to Agile as it’s very flexible and suits my style of being able to plan when to use the dishwasher etc.  I’m a low energy user - usually around 100-120kw  of electricity a month   

while I’m on the list for Tracker in July I’ll stick with Agile for electricity and decide closer to the time re gas. My gas use is minimal during the summer months (no more than 1-2kw a day for hot water) so the benefits of paying 3p v the expected new rate of 8p are not huge.  

Spoonie_Turtle

pchelpman said:

Thanks guys.

Will take those on board but, that said, I haven't the time to dedicate to price watching nor am I someone who takes risks 'stocks & shares' style. 

Also we don't change out energy usage habits at all really.

Tracker is good if you can load shift to an extent, e.g. putting on the dishwasher a day earlier or later, or washing machine/tumble dryer (e.g. at weekends - by 9 or 10am on Saturday you'll know whether Saturday or Sunday is the cheaper day) or even, if someone's a bit of a night owl, putting something on after midnight if the next day is cheaper, that kind of thing.  Much easier than Agile without having to make big changes.

We haven't really kept up with things like that recently because electricity prices have been relatively stable - I keep a closer eye if they're more volatile - and we don't yet have a smart meter (plus we've been having to do some things around the home that just have to be done whenever we are able to, regardless of the electricity cost that day).  When we get one we will be a bit more vigilant to make a bit better use of the tariff.

Telegraph_Sam

QrizB said:

The Octopus Tracker gas formula uses the wholesale price in pence per therm, not pence per kWh. That's why the multiplier is 0.03-sonething, rather than 1.-something.

From the FAQ:

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03615) + 1.148 p per kWh

If the price per therm on an example day is is 82.6p, the Tracker price per kWh will be 4.13399 p per kWh.

I have now got the mathematics to add up using these modifications. The "mark-up" is contained in my Northern "formula" . Using p / kwh as the common denominator I reckon Octopus' gross mark-up is 42% / gross margin = 30%.  At a glance higher than I would have expected for a high volume commodity business, but may be there are extenuating circs.

QrizB

Telegraph_Sam said:

I have now got the mathematics to add up using these modifications. The "mark-up" is contained in my Northern "formula" . Using p / kwh as the common denominator I reckon Octopus' gross mark-up is 42% / gross margin = 30%.  At a glance higher than I would have expected for a high volume commodity business, but may be there are extenuating circs.

I still don't follow.

Are you claiming that Octopus are charging you 30-40% more than the Tracker formula would suggest? If so, you should take it up with Octopus.

Or are you saying that you are being charged 30-40% more than the wholesale price? Because that is entirely normal, you are not buying your gas at wholesale prices (as is plain from the formula).