Octopus Tariff Help

Mondee

Hi all,

With all this energy crisis talk, I fixed my rate with Octopus mid January. The tariff I got was the below:

Loyal Octopus 12M Fixed December 2021 v3
27.51p/kWh
23.76p/day

I thought I was doing the right thing due to suggestion of octopus employee and also due to the cap in April.

Unfortunately I was naive to not even think about how it would impact my usage… My DD went up and I didn’t think about the rest. I got the first bill on this tariff and my usage went from around £170 to £240!!! (Only electric flat)

So I phoned Octopus to know if this was correct, and also to ask about the tariff I was under the impression that it would start in February and not straight away.

I was given the option to go back to variable rate which is now 23.5p/kWh and 23.76p standing charge.

Now this would save me around £50 a month for next couple of months on usage and worst case scenario is I get charged at 28p/kWh as per price cap.

Can anyone with more knowledge and understanding suggest what I should do?

Thanks

[Deleted User]

Your tariff has no impact whatsoever on your usage. You pay for every kWh that is consumed at the agreed tariff price. If your tariff has increased - which it has - and you have used more energy then the cost of the electricity will reflect these changes.

The way to calculate your cheapest annual cost is to do a price comparison based on kWh used per year - not by month. Yes, you could save a few £s by going back to the Capped tariff for a couple of months but you might then find that the Octopus Loyal tariff has increased.

Keep_pedalling

Your usage has not changed, the cost per unit has. You are currently paying slightly under what the variable rate will be come April, but there could very well be an increase in that rate come October, so your £100 savings could be wiped out in the first couple off months of Autumn on a yet higher rate.

if you drop back to the SVR, any fix you will be offered later is going to be considerably more than you are currently paying. As no one has a crystal ball what is best for you is a bit of a gambol, but in your shoes I would stick with your current contract as I think over a year it may work out the best bet and it gives you 11 months of certainty, which makes budgeting a little easier. 

Mondee

Ok, so if my estimated annual usage is 6903.3.

Fixed rate: 6903.3 x 27.51p = £1899.10
Variable: 6903.3 x 28p = £1932.92

However I would have at least 2 months where it is cheaper and then from October it could be 20% more expensive.

Am I looking at this correctly or missing anything? This whole situation really is giving me a headache trying to understand which is the best option.

QrizB

Mondee said:

Ok, so if my estimated annual usage is 6903.3.

Fixed rate: 6903.3 x 27.51p = £1899.10
Variable: 6903.3 x 28p = £1932.92

However I would have at least 2 months where it is cheaper and then from October it could be 20% more expensive.

Am I looking at this correctly or missing anything? This whole situation really is giving me a headache trying to understand which is the best option.

The variable rate is likely to have a much higher standing charge, too; an extra £70-£80/yr compared to your current rate.

You can find a table showing all the regional caps at the link in my signature.

Mondee

QrizB said:

Mondee said:

Ok, so if my estimated annual usage is 6903.3.

Fixed rate: 6903.3 x 27.51p = £1899.10
Variable: 6903.3 x 28p = £1932.92

However I would have at least 2 months where it is cheaper and then from October it could be 20% more expensive.

Am I looking at this correctly or missing anything? This whole situation really is giving me a headache trying to understand which is the best option.

The variable rate is likely to have a much higher standing charge, too; an extra £70-£80/yr compared to your current rate.

You can find a table showing all the regional caps at the link in my signature.

Ok I guess that makes the Fixed term cheaper regardless. £240 bill was a shock to the system. I guess no other way about it and hopefully soon the weather will get warmer so less usage.