What rates are you being offered by your provider at the moment?

Spoonie_Turtle

Telegraph_Sam said:

Has anyone worked out if the total electric cost of being on Agile for the past 12 months would have been the same as on Tracker? Other variables being equal. I think they are both in a sense averages and it might be that the end result would be the same. Or not ..

The answer would depend on your individual pattern of use, surely.  If you have peak-time use then Agile is more likely to be more expensive, if you avoid it then it stands a chance of being cheaper.

Telegraph_Sam

I keep changing my mind on this. For the sake of making comparisons practicable I would keep the 24-hour pattern of use constant. Statistically the Agile price is more volatile, but whether the ups compensate for the downs (and the results are the same) is debatable.

I have to make my mind up now which to switch to. Interestingly Guy Lipman says his program can run my last year's consumption through the Agile values and arrive at a total (or monthly average), something I would have thought impossible. Regrettably however he can't do the same for Tracker even though with this there ought to be considerably less number crunching.

Gut feeling is to go for Tracker electric.

MaDMaX**

currently with EDF for my Gas after ZOG went bust!

paying £43 a month, quite happy with it, but noticed today can now go on to a fixed tariff, that's quite similar

very tempted just for a 12 month peace of mind, 

what does anybody think, worth going over too ?

Current tariff

Welcome Standard

Unit rate

Gas: 7.608p per kWh Gas unit rate: 7.608 pence per kilowatt hour

Daily standing charge

Gas: 29.11p per day

new tariff

Essentials Exclusive

Unit rate : 7.776 pence 

Daily standing charge: 29.11 pence per day 

on the flip side for my electricity I have been on Octopus 24M

Octopus 24M Fixed July 2021 v1

Fixed term ends 12/08/2023

19.87p/kWh
24.11p/day

only choices are 

either 

12M Fixed deal

⚡ Electricity

Daily standing charge 47.95p /day

Unit rate 28.36p /kWh

Early exit fee

(For changing tariff or supplier)

£75

or 

Octopus flexible

⚡ Electricity

Daily standing charge 47.95p /day

pretty sure im buggered either way with this coming from a long fixed deal, 

probably gonna just plump for the fixed deal and take it like a man, i know there are tracker tariffs out there incl octopus, but not got enough time and energy to keep an eye on that, 

[Deleted User]

Telegraph_Sam said:

I keep changing my mind on this. For the sake of making comparisons practicable I would keep the 24-hour pattern of use constant. Statistically the Agile price is more volatile, but whether the ups compensate for the downs (and the results are the same) is debatable.

I have to make my mind up now which to switch to. Interestingly Guy Lipman says his program can run my last year's consumption through the Agile values and arrive at a total (or monthly average), something I would have thought impossible. Regrettably however he can't do the same for Tracker even though with this there ought to be considerably less number crunching.

Gut feeling is to go for Tracker electric.

Choosing a tariff by looking back 12 months is a ‘fools errand’.  You are looking for cost certainty when wholesale market following energy tariffs are anything but certain. They react first to events such as a damaged gas pipeline or a very cold Winter. If I recall, you spent weeks agonising about switching to Go which is nothing more than a 2 rate tariff which at the time was fixed. Do you really want to spend everyday worrying about whether the 25% increase in Tracker is just a blip or the start of a trend? If you are the sort of person that does worry about these things, then you should go for a fixed tariff.

FWiW, we are already seeing an upward trend in wholesale gas prices which I suspect is due in part to increased electricity demand in mainland Europe for air conditioning. When gas prices move upwards, then electricity follows.

Finally, something else to consider. Both Tracker and Agile require a smart meter on a 30 minute profile. Octopus makes it very clear in the terms and conditions if this data is not available it reserves the right to bill you at its Flexible tariff rate. If you are on Tracker, Octopus should still be able to bill on average usage whilst it sorts out your smart meter problems. It cannot do this for Agile.

Organgrinder

Just been offered this by Octopus. Works out 6% cheaper than current tarrif. Seems a good bet. Electricity top, gas bottom.

Tariff cost breakdown

⚡ Electricity

Daily standing charge	60.18p /day
Unit rate	29.11p /kWh
Early exit fee (For changing tariff or supplier)	£75

🔥 Gas

Daily standing charge	27.47p /day
Unit rate	7.06p /kWh
Early exit fee (For changing tariff or supplier)	£75

generic__username

Organgrinder said:

Just been offered this by Octopus. Works out 6% cheaper than current tarrif. Seems a good bet. Electricity top, gas bottom.

Tariff cost breakdown

⚡ Electricity

Daily standing charge	60.18p /day
Unit rate	29.11p /kWh
Early exit fee (For changing tariff or supplier)	£75

🔥 Gas

Daily standing charge	27.47p /day
Unit rate	7.06p /kWh
Early exit fee (For changing tariff or supplier)	£75

Slightly different rates to me, assuming different energy broker (Southern Electric for my area), but same I got offered a 12m tariff that is 6% than variable. My rates are:

Electricity
Unit price	28.36p per kWh
Standing charge	47.95p per day
Gas
Unit price	7.14p per kWh
Standing charge	27.47p per day

Decided to fix. Current predictions that I've seen are an expected 5% drop in October with a rise again over winter, so at worst I think it'll break even.

Telegraph_Sam

Interesting. Do these offers have a "name" like Loyalty or Cosy. or are they just the response you got when you went through the "Get a Quote" routine when you look at the website?

generic__username

Telegraph_Sam said:

Interesting. Do these offers have a "name" like Loyalty or Cosy. or are they just the response you got when you went through the "Get a Quote" routine when you look at the website?

Sorry I thought that I'd pasted that too - it's their Loyal Octopus 12m Fixed. I happened to see it under my account today. I think it's very new because I emailed 2 weeks ago and they didn't have any Fixed rates going, so I just moved to their variable tariff because it was slightly lower than British Gas, who my previous fix was with.

I'm genuinely not sure if they're offering it to new customers, best emailing and asking if they have any Fixed rates (if it's not, consider moving to their variable if it's cheaper than your current supplier, and then seeing what is available under your account).

Telegraph_Sam

Tks there is a "Loyal" that is on my list of 'All our tariffs". I had been considering that alongside Tracker which is of course not fixed

Ivrytwr3

Economy 7 user, can someone help please:

Current tariff: Flexible Octopus

Unit rates:

Standing charge: Electricity: 48.76p per day

Electricity (day): 36.80p per kWh

Electricity (night): 16.40p per kWh

Standing charge: Gas: 27.47p per day

Gas: 7.38p per kWh

-------------------

Available: Loyal Octopus 12M Fixed

Electricity:

Daily standing charge 48.76p /day

Unit rate (day) 34.34p /kWh

Unit rate (night) 15.31p /kWh

Early exit fee (For changing tariff or supplier) £75

Gas

Daily standing charge 27.47p /day

Unit rate 6.92p /kWh

Early exit fee (For changing tariff or supplier) £75

-------------

Is this worth going for in your opinion? It seems i can save approx £45 per month if i fix for 12 months...............