Octopus Tracker

masonic

matt_drummer said:

[Deleted User] said:

Since I joined in Feb it's almost halved the prices of our energy. It's insane. 

It’s called summer when gas supply exceeds demand. No one buys a share based on the fact that it has risen in value by 100% in the past 6 months. If we have a very cold Winter and high Chinese demand for LNG, we could well see a marked rise in Tracker prices. The good news is that there are no exit fees but a switch away may not be immediate.

I believe that Octopus is accepting new Tracker customers.

And you have to wait nine months to go back on it?

Meaning you will not be able to benefit from Tracker prices next spring and summer.

There's always Agile as an interim option.

mmmmikey

Does anyone know how to get the Tracker price using the Octopus API? I've got it worked out for Agile and I guess it should be easier for Tracker but can't find a link showing me where to get it. Maybe there's a link in your account if you're a Tracker customer that you could share after deleting any personal information? Thanks, Mike.

MultiFuelBurner

mmmmikey said:

Does anyone know how to get the Tracker price using the Octopus API? I've got it worked out for Agile and I guess it should be easier for Tracker but can't find a link showing me where to get it. Maybe there's a link in your account if you're a Tracker customer that you could share after deleting any personal information? Thanks, Mike.

Not tried it myself yet as still in the planning stage for our home automation project

https://www.reddit.com/r/OctopusEnergy/comments/1527e5i/tracker_api_call_for_prices/

mmmmikey

MultiFuelBurner said:

mmmmikey said:

Does anyone know how to get the Tracker price using the Octopus API? I've got it worked out for Agile and I guess it should be easier for Tracker but can't find a link showing me where to get it. Maybe there's a link in your account if you're a Tracker customer that you could share after deleting any personal information? Thanks, Mike.

Not tried it myself yet as still in the planning stage for our home automation project

https://www.reddit.com/r/OctopusEnergy/comments/1527e5i/tracker_api_call_for_prices/

That's perfect thanks - exactly what I was looking for The syntax of the API call is the same as it is for Agile but I was struggling to find a tariff code.

What are you planning for your home automation project? Happy to share ideas / config etc. if it's of any help. I started with Smartthings but have just migrated to Home Assistant which I am finding way better. I've got to the stage where it is reliably controlling immersion heaters, various electric heaters, aircon units, curtains, blinds and lights. I've got a few basic integrations in place using local rules and IFTTT for trigger events based on Agile prices (e.g. heat the water when the price is lowest). I'm currently working on optimising the schedule to factor in the availability of spare power from my solar panelsand the weather forecast. At the same time, I'm getting the data for the day ahead from the API so I can remove the dependence on an internet connection at runtime. I'm also automating a daily comparison between what I've paid with Agile and an estimate of what I would have paid with Tracker, E7 SVR or Single Rate SVR. So quite a few threads - if your interested just ask....

noitsnotme

14.86p/kWh for me today.  That’s around 17% lower than the recent average.  I know it won’t last but it’s great seeing numbers like that.

Unless it’s a glitch 🤷‍♂️

SJMALBA

noitsnotme said:

14.86p/kWh for me today.  That’s around 17% lower than the recent average.  I know it won’t last but it’s great seeing numbers like that.

Unless it’s a glitch 🤷‍♂️

15.51p/kWh for me today and 14.94p/kWh tomorrow.

la531983

noitsnotme said:

14.86p/kWh for me today.  That’s around 17% lower than the recent average.  I know it won’t last but it’s great seeing numbers like that.

Unless it’s a glitch 🤷‍♂️

No glitch. See the Agile thread. Negative hourly pricing overnight due to too much wind and nobody needing to whack their heating on overnight yet.

And as stated its even cheaper tomorrow.

Wind is currently generating 50% of all UK power, which is a huge percentage.  The annual average is 30%

Bendo

mmmmikey said:

. I'm also automating a daily comparison between what I've paid with Agile and an estimate of what I would have paid with Tracker, E7 SVR or Single Rate SVR. So quite a few threads - if your interested just ask....

Interested in that if you are willing to share details. Not had a chance to dabble yet spend the day at work dealing with data etc then don't get the chance to do my own bits when I get home.

KiKi

Hi, new to the energy board on here! 
Octopus offered me the Tracker tariff yesterday.  I'm going to do my own research, of course, but part of that research is to ask if anyone has any advice on things to consider / watch out for, so any tips gratefully received. I'm a fairly low energy user (currently Octopus flexible with DD c£100 a month, in credit).
Thanks
KiKi

Pat38493

KiKi said:

Hi, new to the energy board on here! 
Octopus offered me the Tracker tariff yesterday.  I'm going to do my own research, of course, but part of that research is to ask if anyone has any advice on things to consider / watch out for, so any tips gratefully received. I'm a fairly low energy user (currently Octopus flexible with DD c£100 a month, in credit).
Thanks
KiKi

Octopus Tracker changes the price of your energy every day.

If you don't have a smart meter it will be split across the days based on an Octopus formula (but I think they don't accept you on it anymore if you don't have a smart meter).

If you have a smart meter, it should be charged based on actual usage by day, but I've seen a lot of reports that they still do the above ^^ to some people in some months.  It probably doesn't make much difference.

See the site gastracker.uk or energy-stats.uk where you can look at and download past pricing information for Tracker.  Generally over the last 6 months, tracker was significantly cheaper than the standard flexible tariff on most days.  

For example since I joined Octopus nearly 3 months ago, I would have saved nearly 40% by being on Tracker (although actually I am on Agile at the moment).

Of course if China invades Taiwan or an asteroid hits Australia or suchlike, the price could go through the roof pretty quick - I think it is capped at 100p per KWH which is more than 3 times the current standard rate.  I don't think it ever went this high though up to now.

If the price starts to go very high for a significant amount of days, you can switch away from tracker.  Octopus says that it could take up to 2 weeks to move you off the tariff so your maximum exposure is 2 weeks of high prices.  Anecdotally it usually only takes a day or two for them to move you.  Once you leave Tracker, you are not officially allowed to rejoin for 10 months but Octopus seem to apply some leeway depending on your past behaviour (they don't want people switching tariff every day to get the best rate for the day or when they need to charge their car or whatever).

Good tariff but you just need to check the rate you are paying every day or at least every few days.