Octopus Tracker

SJMALBA

FWIW, by way of a comparison between a few versions of Tracker, for me, today's electricity prices:

Tracker v2 - 24.14p/kWh
December 2023 v1 - 26.93p/kWh
April 2024 v1 - 27.64p/kWh
October 2024 v1 - 29.74p/kWh

Telegraph_Sam

I don't understand why the p/kWh prices are not all the same, even if the SC's are not!
What was your source for these figures?

SJMALBA

Telegraph_Sam said:

I don't understand why the p/kWh prices are not all the same, even if the SC's are not!
What was your source for these figures?

The URs are not all the same because Octopus has chosen to change the formula for calculating them each time they've introduced a new version of Tracker in 2024.

The source is my spreadsheet, where I have retained the relevant formulae for the specific Tracker versions listed in my previous post.

Telegraph_Sam

That thought did occur to me later. The unit rates must result from a combination of the wholesale market prices on the day and the market conversion formulas used by each version.  Significant that chronolocally the resulting rates seem to be going in just one direction ..

Doc_N

Telegraph_Sam said:

That thought did occur to me later. The unit rates must result from a combination of the wholesale market prices on the day and the market conversion formulas used by each version.  Significant that chronolocally the resulting rates seem to be going in just one direction ..

Yes. It's called profiteering by Octopus. Or ripping off customers. What was once a company which appeared genuinely to care about its customers has shifted to a cynical rip-off merchant intent on boosting the profits of its shareholders at any price. Every bit as bad now as British Gas and the rest of them - and having to take them recently to the Energy Ombudsman just to get them to pay up on energy from solar panels has confirmed that. 

Greg Jackson is canny - lots of little sweeteners like 'free' energy and giveaways that actually cost very little to give the impression that they care. Whilst cynically ripping customers off with price increases that really pull in the big money.

masonic

The less cynical explanation is that costs captured within both unit rate and standing charge have been increasing with inflation since 2017 have finally been reflected in the formula over the past year. In regions where costs have fallen a little, this has been reflected in the formula too. I've yet to see any evidence that this explanation is incorrect.

While the energy market remains privatised, companies are going to make a profit from selling energy. Only new firms seeking to rapidly build market share will offer cheap rates funded by investor capital (see Tomato Energy). Octopus is no longer in that category.

25.4p for me today, but that's the way tariffs like this go sometimes. I'd be paying over 30p for most of the day if I were on Agile, and that won't put me off joining it later on if I believe my average will be lower than the price cap.

It's probably time to move on when you feel you are being ripped off.

Largs

Today I am 26p per unit on tracker.  My dad's tracker is 28p both in the ScottishPower region.  A bit high, but I need to remember just over a week ago I was paying 13p on the Sunday and I knew prices could fluctuate when I signed up.  I'll just be mindful of what I leave swicthed on and sadly my neighbours will not be seeing my Christmas lights tonight.

debitcardmayhem

Just checked my gas tracker(leccy on flux) for November average 5.65 guess I will wait til 8/01/25 when it ends andthen fix . 

Electric on flux average 17.19 not too bad, won’t need to get agile until I see what the new year brings, at my age I am not very agile now 

jadex

Doc_N said:

Telegraph_Sam said:

That thought did occur to me later. The unit rates must result from a combination of the wholesale market prices on the day and the market conversion formulas used by each version.  Significant that chronolocally the resulting rates seem to be going in just one direction ..

Yes. It's called profiteering by Octopus. Or ripping off customers. What was once a company which appeared genuinely to care about its customers has shifted to a cynical rip-off merchant intent on boosting the profits of its shareholders at any price. Every bit as bad now as British Gas and the rest of them - and having to take them recently to the Energy Ombudsman just to get them to pay up on energy from solar panels has confirmed that. 

Greg Jackson is canny - lots of little sweeteners like 'free' energy and giveaways that actually cost very little to give the impression that they care. Whilst cynically ripping customers off with price increases that really pull in the big money.

Somehow they have to pay for Octopus branded hard hat for "Crazy Red Ed"...

northernstar007

off topic a little, but i see the free coffees are getting used up, got to be quick to get 1 now