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Octopus Tracker
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Xbigman said:Everyone should be aware that the EPG skewed the figures for Tracker and Agile over the last year to the point they were no brainers. That's not true any more. If it goes like last year there were spikes in the electric price up near 80p a kwh and several multi week periods between 40p and 50p a kwh. Likewise there were several periods where the gas price was around 20p a kwh for weeks at a time.I think you're mis-remembering.Here's the chart from Energy Stats for my region (Southern):These was one week in August when gas was over 20p/kWh.That same week, plus a few days either side, electricity was over 60p/kWh, plus one day in December.N. Hampshire, he/him. Octopus Intelligent Go elec & Tracker gas / Vodafone BB / iD mobile. Ripple Kirk Hill member.
2.72kWp PV facing SSW installed Jan 2012. 11 x 247w panels, 3.6kw inverter. 34 MWh generated, long-term average 2.6 Os.Not exactly back from my break, but dipping in and out of the forum.Ofgem cap table, Ofgem cap explainer. Economy 7 cap explainer. Gas vs E7 vs peak elec heating costs, Best kettle!1 -
Yes, I'm with Darren @Xbigman on this. These tariffs are not for the faint hearted. Easy to look at the last 6 months data and convince yourself they're a good buy but it's the next 6 months data that matters, and we don't have that. If you decide to go for one of these tariffs, do you have a clear plan for how long to stay on it? If the price goes up suddenly are you going to be fretting and glued to your mobile waiting for the next day's price(s)? And if you decide to swap out to an alternative tariff are you the kind of person that will be beating themselves up and getting all stressed and upset if they suddenly get cheap again. And when will you make the switch back? These are tariffs for the financially astute and/or risk takers - nothing wrong with that but if that's not you then an SVR or fix might be better options.
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The trackers never come up in the results what you compare energy prices on here.
I don't mind a variable tariff, but I just looked and their is a waiting list.
From Octopus point of view, they cannot lose. The fixed deals also seem like a con, how can you get a new deal every twelve months and you are said to save £xx yet our bills increase.0 -
QrizB said:Xbigman said:Everyone should be aware that the EPG skewed the figures for Tracker and Agile over the last year to the point they were no brainers. That's not true any more. If it goes like last year there were spikes in the electric price up near 80p a kwh and several multi week periods between 40p and 50p a kwh. Likewise there were several periods where the gas price was around 20p a kwh for weeks at a time.I think you're mis-remembering.Here's the chart from Energy Stats for my region (Southern):These was one week in August when gas was over 20p/kWh.That same week, plus a few days either side, electricity was over 60p/kWh, plus one day in December.
As I said on another thread. If a fixed electric tariff comes out around 26p to 28p in August I will probably abandon Agile and go for it.
Darren
Xbigman's guide to a happy life.
Eat properly
Sleep properly
Save some money0 -
sevenhills said:The trackers never come up in the results what you compare energy prices on here.That's because the comparison sites aren't set up to handle them. They're too variable.
I don't mind a variable tariff, but I just looked and their is a waiting list.
Not any more, as far as I know.From Octopus point of view, they cannot lose.
They lose if the price hits the cap. They lose if prices are high and you switch from Tracker to a capped variable tariff. They also could lose if they don't actually buy your power on the day-ahead market.The fixed deals also seem like a con, how can you get a new deal every twelve months and you are said to save £xx yet our bills increase.
Fixed deals provide the customer with price stability. They are not primarily there to save you money.N. Hampshire, he/him. Octopus Intelligent Go elec & Tracker gas / Vodafone BB / iD mobile. Ripple Kirk Hill member.
2.72kWp PV facing SSW installed Jan 2012. 11 x 247w panels, 3.6kw inverter. 34 MWh generated, long-term average 2.6 Os.Not exactly back from my break, but dipping in and out of the forum.Ofgem cap table, Ofgem cap explainer. Economy 7 cap explainer. Gas vs E7 vs peak elec heating costs, Best kettle!1 -
Actually - while wholesale prices are relatively low - both Tracker / Agile Elec. are 'low risk'. With Agile particularly, to make it work you need to load shift way from the 4pm to 7pm 'loaded' window but otherwise daily average prices for both are consistently below the SVTThe option of jumping back penalty free to the SVT if prices start looking like averaging out about the price cap SVT, is the insurance plan on both tariffs!Tracker gas being a daily price is at the moment is definitely a no brainier, also as the daily / future prices can be factored into considerations as to whether to stay on the tariff - for those individuals that do the research again should be low risk of a nasty surprise.0
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mmmmikey said:And if you decide to swap out to an alternative tariff are you the kind of person that will be beating themselves up and getting all stressed and upset if they suddenly get cheap again. And when will you make the switch back?0
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JohnPo said:Actually - while wholesale prices are relatively low - both Tracker / Agile Elec. are 'low risk'. With Agile particularly, to make it work you need to load shift way from the 4pm to 7pm 'loaded' window but otherwise daily average prices for both are consistently below the SVTThe option of jumping back penalty free to the SVT if prices start looking like averaging out about the price cap SVT, is the insurance plan on both tariffs!Tracker gas being a daily price is at the moment is definitely a no brainier, also as the daily / future prices can be factored into considerations as to whether to stay on the tariff - for those individuals that do the research again should be low risk of a nasty surprise.
DarrenXbigman's guide to a happy life.
Eat properly
Sleep properly
Save some money0 -
The more I think about this the more I believe these tariff's are a dead end. In the meantime I'll take the savings on offer.If it is a dead end then it is down a pretty long cul-de-sac. Tracker tariffs have been around for at least 5 years. In 2020, I was paying just over 1p/kWh for gas compared to a fixed tariff price of twice as much. Clearly, as said many times, Tracker is not a ‘switch to and forget’ tariff. Customers have to pro-actively monitor trends and, at times, take a long term view.
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The comment in the MSE news article on Tracker that "Octopus has said its rates will likely double during the winter period, when demand for energy is much higher" is confusing.There is no indication that the price cap is projected to rise to that level, but it surely would if wholesale prices rose significantly.Having now made equal savings for a month using Agile, I am in two minds about switching to Tracker now it has become an option earlier than anticipated.0
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