Octopus Tracker

Spoonie_Turtle

QrizB said:

matt_drummer said:

Doc_N said:

bristolleedsfan said:

Friday -  Nth West Region - Original Tracker would have been 30p kWh, current version 42.3pkWh

That’s a pretty shocking indictment of the greed of Octopus.

Or, perhaps, their generosity in the past?

Or possibly just a sign of some dodgy maths?

The formula was (W * 1.2012) + 10.0928 p per kWh

And is now (W * 1.22442) + 12.29569 p per kWh

So for the old formula to give 30p/kWh, W would be 16.573p.

And for the new formula to give 42.3p, W would be 24.505p.

Now, I'm no expert but those two W values seem quite different.

Are you sure that's for original Tracker, v1 way back when?  That looks more like Dec 23 formula to me.

QrizB

matt_drummer said:

Is that the formula for the original/first version of the Tracker tariff?

and

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Are you sure that's for original Tracker, v1 way back when?  That looks more like Dec 23 formula to me.

It's the oldest formula listed at https://octopus.energy/tracker-faqs/ but that site doesn't identify tariff names, just the date the formula ceased to apply.

Doc_N

debitcardmayhem said:

Doc_N said:

bristolleedsfan said:

Friday -  Nth West Region - Original Tracker would have been 30p kWh, current version 42.3pkWh

That’s a pretty shocking indictment of the greed of Octopus.

Get real, what was the SVT then and now, or doesn’t the commodity market in your world, geez

You’re missing the point entirely. That particular difference in price is caused not by the increase in wholesale prices, but by the increased margin taken on the same price.

BargainBear

According to Elexon's system sell/buy price data at 00:00 this morning the wholesale price of electricity was £151 p/MWh, or 15.1 p/kWh.  As of 01:30 the price had dropped to £86.7 p/MWh or 8.67 p/kWh.  It's jumped up to £141 p/MWh or 14.1 p/kWh, and down to as cheap as £50 p/MWh or 5 p/kWh  throughout the day.

matt_drummer

Doc_N said:

debitcardmayhem said:

Doc_N said:

bristolleedsfan said:

Friday -  Nth West Region - Original Tracker would have been 30p kWh, current version 42.3pkWh

That’s a pretty shocking indictment of the greed of Octopus.

Get real, what was the SVT then and now, or doesn’t the commodity market in your world, geez

You’re missing the point entirely. That particular difference in price is caused not by the increase in wholesale prices, but by the increased margin taken on the same price.

Or the reduced loss.

I don't remember exactly.

Wasn't the 30p limit imposed as part of the government support?

Wasn't the government funding the difference?

bristolleedsfan

I recall short period of cold still days January 2021, Tracker E hit 30p and 32p kWh, SVR from memory was 18-20p kWh

BargainBear

matt_drummer said:

Doc_N said:

debitcardmayhem said:

Doc_N said:

bristolleedsfan said:

Friday -  Nth West Region - Original Tracker would have been 30p kWh, current version 42.3pkWh

That’s a pretty shocking indictment of the greed of Octopus.

Get real, what was the SVT then and now, or doesn’t the commodity market in your world, geez

You’re missing the point entirely. That particular difference in price is caused not by the increase in wholesale prices, but by the increased margin taken on the same price.

Or the reduced loss.

I don't remember exactly.

Wasn't the 30p limit imposed as part of the government support?

Wasn't the government funding the difference?

You'd hope that any supplier worth their weight would have their analysts looking at weather data, forecasts, market price monitoring and forecasting, and purchase at the best possible prices ahead of time, so they can offer the best prices and make the most profit; they're a business after all.

One thing to remember is that Octopus utilise the energy from some customers EV's whilst plugged in to offset purchasing any to meet demand, with the attraction of providing a very cheap rate to charge said EV's during off peak periods.  Given that off peak periods are pretty much set in stone for most areas, they're quids in as they can purchase well ahead of time at the cheapest possible prices to meet the demands for the charging periods; that's if they purchase at all, they may just use the energy from renewables depending on generation and stored.

QrizB

matt_drummer said:

Wasn't the 30p limit imposed as part of the government support?

Original Tracker hasd a 30p/kWh cap for electricity, and 6p/kWh for gas (per this post). Everyone's expectation was that it wold never be hit., it was just a comfort blanket from Octopus.

I don't think it was reached until the various ructions of 2022.

Telegraph_Sam

I suppose that we can't accuse Octopus of greed if the wholesale market price goes ballistic and that translates  into higher retail prices for the consumer. Rather the accusation must be levelled at the wholesale conversion formulas that they use. These are fixed for as long as the version continues. But it seems that each version has a shorter life span. I believe that the latest electricity formula represents a slight drop compared with its predecessor but this is small comfort. Such is my understanding of the background.
I am also confronted with the mid Feb deadline for Dec 2023 people.  I was looking around for alternative fixes. Uswitch came up with a co by the name of "100% Green". I've never heard of this co.

matt_drummer

BargainBear said:

You'd hope that any supplier worth their weight would have their analysts looking at weather data, forecasts, market price monitoring and forecasting, and purchase at the best possible prices ahead of time, so they can offer the best prices and make the most profit; they're a business after all.

One thing to remember is that Octopus utilise the energy from customers EV's whilst plugged in to offset purchasing any to meet demand, with the attraction of providing a very cheap rate to charge said EV's during off peak periods.  Given that off peak periods are pretty much set in stone for most areas, they're quids in as they can purchase well ahead of time at the cheapest possible prices to meet the demands for the charging periods; that's if they purchase at all, they may just use the energy from renewables depending on generation and stored.

How?

They don't from either of mine!

That's because they can't, it isn't possible!