We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
Octopus Tracker
Comments
-
Just noticed this on the Tracker FAQs page:
If you signed up before 1st April 2026 we'll automatically reduce your daily unit rates by 3.34 p/kWh for electricity and 0.31 p/kWh for gas.So, looking at the new formula from 1st April (north east region), that means an effective 0.174p/kWh rise for electricity and 0.536p/kWh rise for gas. The elec rise is fairly marginal but the gas rise is quite chunky.
Bearing in mind, of course, that this is before you take into account the substantial recent rises in the wholesale price. I’m afraid that the good old days are well and truly gone, and that the extremely marginal gains that Tracker may occasionally offer are certainly no longer worth the risk.0 -
17p/kWh in the SE today, 15.29p tomorrow…
If what I said helped you, please "Thank" the relevant post. It cheers me up somewhat..0 -
Gas was already unappealing in the previous formula. They may as well just axe tracker gas now. It's like those ridiculous car insurance quotes for when they don't want to cover you.
0 -
It is a tracker, so it will track the bad as well as the good.
It won't always be bad, and it won't always be good, that is why you can't just jump off every time it goes bad for a while and then jump back on as soon as it turns good again.
Doesn't mean they have to axe it as soon as it goes bad…
0 -
It's always been good for Octopus!
0 -
Unless I'm mistaken, that's using the April 2025 v1 formula?
Under the latest April 2026 v1 formula the equivalent prices are 20.06p and 17.79p. Conversely, if you went back just over 2 years, the prices for today and tomorrow would have been 15.96p and 13.86p.
There will always be days when wholesale prices are relatively cheap, with bank holiday weekends that coincide with windy weather being a classic example. What's changed is the amount that Octopus add on top of the wholesale price, regardless of whether it's a cheap or expensive day.
I think you're missing the point here. It's not about whether the wholesale price is high or low, it's about risk.
Under fixed tariffs, it is the energy company that carries the risk of increasing wholesale prices. With Tracker, it is the customer who bears that risk.
In order for Tracker to be worth that risk, the savings that can be made on cheap days need to be substantial and on average days need to be significant, otherwise you might as well just lock in a fix (not right now admittedly). With each new iteration of the Tracker formula, Octopus has loaded more and more costs onto the customer, thus reducing the savings that can be made to mitigate for the risk of, as a wild example, the Strait of Hormuz suddenly becoming unpassable.
In my opinion, Tracker stopped being worth that risk a while ago. The latest formula is just further confirmation of that.
3 -
Well I see that you have a big down on Tracker. And you are by no means alone! though it is simplistic to say that fixed tariffs are risk avoiding and tracker not... only in the short term.
But I still find it cost-effective. I can tailor my usage to the price without much effort. Despite what you say, I have not found a cheaper option.. really.
If what I said helped you, please "Thank" the relevant post. It cheers me up somewhat..0 -
Pretty much exactly why I left it - the goalposts have been successively moved further and further away from the customer and the potential gains are substantially outweighed by the potential risks. The non-Octopus fixed tariffs available until recently have beaten Tracker by a country mile.
1 -
Only valid for electricity,gas is a different matter.
4.8kWp 12x400W Longhi 9.6 kWh battery Giv-hy 5.0 Inverter, WSW facing Essex . Aint no sunshine ☀️ Octopus gas fixed dec 24 @ 5.74 tracker again+ Octopus Intelligent Flux leccy
CEC Email energyclub@moneysavingexpert.com0 -
Yeah, not on tracker for gas .. maybe posts should be more specific about that? I always quote kWh figures, to be clear about it ..
If what I said helped you, please "Thank" the relevant post. It cheers me up somewhat..0
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 354.5K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.4K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 455.5K Spending & Discounts
- 247.4K Work, Benefits & Business
- 604.2K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 178.5K Life & Family
- 261.7K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards