Octopus Tracker

Telegraph_Sam

la531983 said

Suppose all you can really do then is make sure after a period of cheap rates send a reading in straight away, so they cant "smooth" it to their advantage to assign more to the more expensive days.

I thought smoothing was triggered only when there had been.a loss of data which is presumably the exception? Sending in readings more or less frequently isn't going to change anything?

masonic

t0rt0ise said:

t0rt0ise said:

I've got a whole day of electricity readings missing. The first time anything from electricity has missed and it's exactly the whole day... 27 October. How odd and how annoying.

Just contacted them on twitter and it's been pulled and already showing. Now just hope it's not too late for the bill.

Providing it was received before your account was debited (which usually happens just before the bill is produced), then you should be ok.

masonic

Telegraph_Sam said:

la531983 said

Suppose all you can really do then is make sure after a period of cheap rates send a reading in straight away, so they cant "smooth" it to their advantage to assign more to the more expensive days.

I thought smoothing was triggered only when there had been.a loss of data which is presumably the exception? Sending in readings more or less frequently isn't going to change anything?

In the event of missing HH data, they fall back on index readings, so submitting a reading immediately after a cheap period prevents them from apportioning usage to future days. Ideally you would have readings on either side.

NB: I don't bother with this, but I keep a close eye on my HH data. And at the moment Octopus can't seem to raise bills automatically for my account anyway.

masonic

northernstar007 said:

my switch is due tomorrow to standard tariff with octocpus, how quick could i get onto tracker

You should be able to apply straight away. Presume you already have a smart meter and are not on E7. Make sure your account is configured to send half hourly readings.

QrizB

wadeo0 said:

For someone without working smart meters who is on the tracker does anyone have any insight as to if there is an optimal time/frequency of providing manual readings to get the most from the tariff? (without doing them every day obviously!) At the moment I send them readings on the 10th, 20th and last day of the month and I think they just average it out. Anyone doing anything better/different?

What you are doing is exactly what I did when my gas meter wasn't smart. Three readings a month, on or about the 102h, 20th and last-th.

Robgmun

I like how the tracker tariff has become very stable in the last week. I think we're good until the end of the month now at the least

masonic

Robgmun said:

I like how the tracker tariff has become very stable in the last week. I think we're good until the end of the month now at the least

It would be unwise to project the recent stability out into the future. Volatility could return at any time, the tariff is about as predictable as the weather.

Telegraph_Sam

masonic said:

Telegraph_Sam said:

la531983 said

Suppose all you can really do then is make sure after a period of cheap rates send a reading in straight away, so they cant "smooth" it to their advantage to assign more to the more expensive days.

I thought smoothing was triggered only when there had been.a loss of data which is presumably the exception? Sending in readings more or less frequently isn't going to change anything?

In the event of missing HH data, they fall back on index readings, so submitting a reading immediately after a cheap period prevents them from apportioning usage to future days. Ideally you would have readings on either side.

NB: I don't bother with this, but I keep a close eye on my HH data. And at the moment Octopus can't seem to raise bills automatically for my account anyway.

I interpret this to mean that you check daily almost to see that there there isn't a gap in their readings. If there is then submit a manual reading pdq. And if that is not quick enough revert to them with the correct data from Lipman?
I agree with your comments on invoices. Mine are following the no 29 bus pattern

MultiFuelBurner

Just enjoy the ride, try and explain it as best you can to others and if they are interested enough in learning how to stay on top of it Tracker is for them.

@northernstar007 mention how quickly to get on tracker I found using Twitter to contact Octopus the quickest way to get switched.

masonic

Telegraph_Sam said:

masonic said:

Telegraph_Sam said:

la531983 said

Suppose all you can really do then is make sure after a period of cheap rates send a reading in straight away, so they cant "smooth" it to their advantage to assign more to the more expensive days.

I thought smoothing was triggered only when there had been.a loss of data which is presumably the exception? Sending in readings more or less frequently isn't going to change anything?

In the event of missing HH data, they fall back on index readings, so submitting a reading immediately after a cheap period prevents them from apportioning usage to future days. Ideally you would have readings on either side.

NB: I don't bother with this, but I keep a close eye on my HH data. And at the moment Octopus can't seem to raise bills automatically for my account anyway.

I interpret this to mean that you check daily almost to see that there there isn't a gap in their readings. If there is then submit a manual reading pdq. And if that is not quick enough revert to them with the correct data from Lipman?
I agree with your comments on invoices. Mine are following the no 29 bus pattern

I've never submitted a manual reading since my smart meter was installed. But if ever I have any missing data, then I give them a few days to retry pulling it automatically (which they normally do), and if not email them to request a manual pull. Looking back through my emails, the last time I needed to do that was March 2022. If they don't have the data, then they need to get it. You cannot provide them with externally sourced data and have them bill you with it.

Last winter, I was actively participating in the Savings Sessions, so it was imperative that Octopus had a complete record of my load shifting into the in-day adjustment period, but I had no issues thankfully.