Octopus Tracker

QrizB

Telegraph_Sam said:

At first glance my gut feel is that anyone who has to take the 4 - 7 pm penalty hit without the facility to recoup at other times - anyone in this flat consumption situation had best give Agile a wide berth in favour of Tracker. I'd be interested to be proved wrong however.

Tracker and Agile calculate prices differently. Tracker has a low multiplier of the wholesale price plus a fixed offset. Agile has a higher multiplier but no offset for 7/8ths of the day.

This means that, if you were to plot a chart of "average retail price" vs. "average wholesale price" for both tariffs, Agile would have a steeper slope than Tracker and would cross the y-axis at a lower value.

I might plot that chart later and share it here.

The net result is that, for someone with a truly flat electricity use (the same amount in every hour), Agile is cheaper when wholesale prices are low but more expensive when they are high.

Telegraph_Sam

@Archerychick and @QrizB. I'd be very interested to know the results of your comparisons. Can you simulate a non-EV scenario also?
Psychologically I think there are grounds for avoiding being fleeced when prices are high rather than winning when prices are low. Accepting that there a risk factor for anyone who has opted for a ToU tariff.

Archerychick

Telegraph_Sam said:

@Archerychick and @QrizB. I'd be very interested to know the results of your comparisons. Can you simulate a non-EV scenario also?
Psychologically I think there are grounds for avoiding being fleeced when prices are high rather than winning when prices are low. Accepting that there a risk factor for anyone who has opted for a ToU tariff.

The octocompare app is fab for comparing octo with octo tariffs and simply compares one tariff with another based on your historical usage. I’m unsure what it does with standing charges though, and even if they’re different so will also have to check that.

This is mine for the last month without load shifting, will share a version when I’ve load shifted the car. 

Spies

Archerychick said:

Telegraph_Sam said:

@Archerychick and @QrizB. I'd be very interested to know the results of your comparisons. Can you simulate a non-EV scenario also?
Psychologically I think there are grounds for avoiding being fleeced when prices are high rather than winning when prices are low. Accepting that there a risk factor for anyone who has opted for a ToU tariff.

The octocompare app is fab for comparing octo with octo tariffs and simply compares one tariff with another based on your historical usage. I’m unsure what it does with standing charges though, and even if they’re different so will also have to check that.

This is mine for the last month without load shifting, will share a version when I’ve load shifted the car. 

If you pay 50p to Octopus Compare it gives you a toggle to load shift on the app

QrizB

OK, here's the chart. This is for Southern region; other regions will vary.

I've used the Guy Lipman data for Agile, Octopus's FAQ for  old & new Tracker formulas.

For Agile, I've assumed a constant demand for electricity - so the evening peak is 1/8th of the total - and have shared the 12p/kWh peak-hours addition out across the day. I've also ignored the standing charge.

For wholesale prices below about 6.5p/kWh (old Tracker) or 9p/kWh (new Tracker), Agile is cheaper. Above those values, Tracker is cheaper.

For reference, the UK Government's long-term forecast for wholesale electricity is around 6p/kWh. Although those forecasts are rarely accurate, since they can't predicit disruptions like eg. a pandemic or ground war in Europe.

Telegraph_Sam

Very interesting. Can one run Octocompare on a laptop?

QrizB

Telegraph_Sam said:

Very interesting. Can one run Octocompare on a laptop?

You could try the "compare your consumption" tool at https://agile.octopushome.net/dashboard ?

let_the_wookie_win

QrizB said:

OK, here's the chart. This is for Southern region; other regions will vary.

I've used the Guy Lipman data for Agile, Octopus's FAQ for  old & new Tracker formulas.

For Agile, I've assumed a constant demand for electricity - so the evening peak is 1/8th of the total - and have shared the 12p/kWh peak-hours addition out across the day. I've also ignored the standing charge.

For wholesale prices below about 6.5p/kWh (old Tracker) or 9p/kWh (new Tracker), Agile is cheaper. Above those values, Tracker is cheaper.

For reference, the UK Government's long-term forecast for wholesale electricity is around 6p/kWh. Although those forecasts are rarely accurate, since they can't predicit disruptions like eg. a pandemic or ground war in Europe.

Long time lurker, first time poster (at least, on this thread!) ...

As a Tracker user since last February, I have saved a fortune! The graph vs Agile though is very interesting indeed and provides food for thought.

Wholesale prices have been c. 5 to 7p over the past week, so Tracker is just about winning still. I'm on the Nov 22 Tracker that will roll over in mid Feb to the new rate, so on the graph basis, Agile is more likely to win.

Supposition: wholesale prices may well not rise much now for winter, so is there an argument now to switch to Agile on 15 February then rejoin in 9 months time (November) with the "security" of a set daily price at that time?

Yorkshire region, not as impacted under the new formula compared with some.

Decisions, decisions.

BootsMullery

Telegraph_Sam said:

Very interesting. Can one run Octocompare on a laptop?

I have the Octopus App and Octopus Compare on my Chromebook. It should load on a Windows laptop.

masonic

BootsMullery said:

Telegraph_Sam said:

Very interesting. Can one run Octocompare on a laptop?

I have the Octopus App and Octopus Compare on my Chromebook. It should load on a Windows laptop.

A Chromebook runs ChromeOS. A Windows laptop runs Windows. They are different operating systems which run different software. An emulator like BlueStacks is needed to run Android apps on Windows.