Octopus Tracker

double_dutchy

masonic said:

They weren't subject to the price cap even when they were variable. 

Hi,

I know I've had this discussion on here before, and you are probably right.....but Octopus don't seem to agree as in the FAQs referring to the February changes to Tracker they say of Tracker:

"...specifically, without a fixed term the tariff will be subject to the price cap, resulting in unworkable complexity with daily wholesale prices"

tlcgrantham

Tracker and Agile standing charges haven’t gone up so far for new and renewing customers.

Qyburn

Telegraph_Sam said:

I ought to know the answer to this: Are Tracker (and Agile) users affected by the reduction in EPG?

No. However the factors that have allowed the EPG to reduce, have also resulted in Tracker and Agile prices falling over the last year or so.

masonic

double_dutchy said:

masonic said:

They weren't subject to the price cap even when they were variable. 

Hi,

I know I've had this discussion on here before, and you are probably right.....but Octopus don't seem to agree as in the FAQs referring to the February changes to Tracker they say of Tracker:

"...specifically, without a fixed term the tariff will be subject to the price cap, resulting in unworkable complexity with daily wholesale prices"

Yes, that statement from Octopus is untrue. Ofgem is clear that the price cap only applies to a standard variable tariff. Other variable tariffs can charge more than the price cap. Octopus is not only contradicting Ofgem, they are also contradicting themselves in other communications they have made, where they have stated clearly that variable Agile and Tracker unit prices can rise as high as £1 because they are not subject to the Ofgem price cap.

Here is a chart of Agile prices for the East Midlands region:

Note the rather flat maximum price per unit up until July 2023. This is when the Energy Price Guarantee applied. This had the effect of discounting the unit rate by up to 17.9p if it went higher than the then price cap of about 33p. However, the price could rise as high as £1/kWh if it breached 50.9p. Fortunately this never happened. The EPG ended in July 2023, and you can see that thereafter AGILE-FLEX-22-11-25 regularly breached the price cap.

Even Tracker (SILVER-FLEX-22-11-25) marginally breached the October 2023 price cap for a couple of days from 30th Nov - 1st Dec 2023.

double_dutchy

masonic said:

Even Tracker (SILVER-FLEX-22-11-25) marginally breached the October 2023 price cap for a couple of days from 30th Nov - 1st Dec 2023.

Thanks, masonic. It seems crazy that even Octopus don't know how the price cap works!

I was on that tracker tariff for those dates. I guess it must be region-specific because for me I never paid more than the price cap during that period. In Eastern region the highest price was 25.48 on 30th November 2023.

masonic

double_dutchy said:

masonic said:

Even Tracker (SILVER-FLEX-22-11-25) marginally breached the October 2023 price cap for a couple of days from 30th Nov - 1st Dec 2023.

Thanks, masonic. It seems crazy that even Octopus don't know how the price cap works!

I was on that tracker tariff for those dates. I guess it must be region-specific because for me I never paid more than the price cap during that period. In Eastern region the highest price was 25.48 on 30th November 2023.

Yeah, looking back the comparisons done at the time were to Flexible, which is discounted below SVT, so Tracker didn't quite get there, whereas Agile peak rate blew through the price cap.

Eastern is one of the great Tracker losers, as it had a pretty good deal on the old formula at odds with a relatively high price cap. Under the new formula it is an expensive region for Tracker, which is more in keeping with its above average price capped rate. 

I note that Octopus has been busy clearing away the old pricing from their website, so grab an archived copy for your records. You may wish to bookmark https://octopus.energy/tariffs/ at the same time, as that no longer seems to be linked from the menu.

double_dutchy

masonic said:

Eastern is one of the great Tracker losers, as it had a pretty good deal on the old formula at odds with a relatively high price cap. Under the new formula it is an expensive region for Tracker, which is more in keeping with its above average price capped rate. 

Yep, that's why I switched to Agile back in February, a little cheaper for me so far, although I'm still on gas tracker

Telegraph_Sam

Reverting to my original query, as things are as of today are Tracker (and Agile) users affected by an energy price cap or guarantee and changes to it?  Or is there still some doubt for example in connection with fixed end dates (which may not be the same for all Tracker / Agile users)? And do whatever caps or guarantees apply to standing charges, alone, and/or to the prices of kWh units? Simple it is not.

Spoonie_Turtle

The default SVT cap does not affect Agile or Tracker because they are not SVTs. 

Telegraph_Sam

Octoprice App. (Octopriceuk.app) Has anyone had experience of this? It seems a little confusing but appears to be a mobile tracker app that works (only?) from a desktop. I am still experimenting with settings etc