Octopus Go Faster without electric vehicle

[Deleted User]

frugalfran said:

We are on Go, but are having difficulty in understanding all the data given for electricity use: for certain periods it seems to be estimated - on the daily half hourly data sheets it sometimes reads 000E+00 and the visual shows no use at all, whereas at other times it is showing e.g.00.001.

Any explanantions or ideas would be welcome. 

Many thanks

It sounds like Octopus is having issues pulling data from your meter. They do this once a day and the return comprises index readings and an XML file which contains the 30 minute usage data. Any gaps in the usage data will put a stop to automatic billing. Octopus can initiate a manual data pull but it isn’t always successful.

The data failure can be down to a number of reasons: network connectivity; Adapter issues or worst case your meter. Octopus had 7 months of issues last year with the Kaifa MA120 meter which was returning an empty XML file.

My advice:  contact Octopus if you have any automatic billing issues.

anon_ymous

mrmajika said:

My recent experience of signing up of Octopus Go (Which was largely instructed over Twitter DMs) is that you have to confirm to Octopus that you have an Ev.  There were no further checks to have to prove that this was accurate. 

Which is the better option? Go or agile? Ie: If you've got solar batteries but not say an EV but you're declaring you've got an EV? 

anon_ymous

94JDH said:

nitsuanomis said:

Hi all,

We have just installed a solar array with battery storage and were intending to sign up for Octopus Go Faster, but Octopus are no longer offering this to customers who don't have an electric vehicle - which is a shame!

As I understand it, part of the intent of tariffs such as this is to move load from times of peak demand to the small hours of the morning, which we're doing regardless of whether we charge a vehicle battery or a home battery.

Regardless:

1. Is anyone else getting the same story from Octopus?

2. In the absence of access to the Go Faster tariff, what other options are there out there?

Thanks in advance,

Simon

This maybe an option for you and they are accepting new customers - it looks likely they will become part of Octopus in the near future and allows customers to join if they want to time shift and isn't just for EV ownership:

https://help.bulb.co.uk/hc/en-us/articles/360059170212-About-Bulb-s-EV-Tariff

Timeshift? 

QrizB

waqasahmed said:

Timeshift? 

Buy electricity when it's cheaper, to use when it's more expensive.

Arbitrage through time, in effect.

anon_ymous

Petriix said:

I strongly recommend actually getting an EV (as long as you can charge at home and have a relatively normal driving pattern).

I don't believe it's worth it for myself. I own my tiny Yaris, that I bought for 2.5K or so. I drive maybe 2-300 miles a month , and the insurance on the Yaris is cheaper than other cars

If I got an EV, then I'd either need to save up or get a car on finance. I don't drive much, so I see my car as an A to B thing. I deliberately sold my Prius to my dad, in favour of an older Yaris because of that exact reason. 

The fuel economy difference is worth it, IF you're doing the miles. Granted, the Prius is greener but from a money perspective, it doesn't work out so well for me 

anon_ymous

QrizB said:

Bumping this thread ...

EDF have published details of their EPG-capped standard variable tariff here. In some regions, for some payment types, their cheap E7 rate is down in single-digit pence.

I could imagine use cases where EDF E7 works out cheaper than Octopus Go, and E7 gets you seven off-peak hours rather than four or five *and* doesn't require you to have an EV. Anyone with a working smart meter should be able to sign up.

Worth it if you don't have Ripple shares I guess! 

anon_ymous

94JDH said:

nitsuanomis said:

Hi all,

We have just installed a solar array with battery storage and were intending to sign up for Octopus Go Faster, but Octopus are no longer offering this to customers who don't have an electric vehicle - which is a shame!

As I understand it, part of the intent of tariffs such as this is to move load from times of peak demand to the small hours of the morning, which we're doing regardless of whether we charge a vehicle battery or a home battery.

Regardless:

1. Is anyone else getting the same story from Octopus?

2. In the absence of access to the Go Faster tariff, what other options are there out there?

Thanks in advance,

Simon

This maybe an option for you and they are accepting new customers - it looks likely they will become part of Octopus in the near future and allows customers to join if they want to time shift and isn't just for EV ownership:

https://help.bulb.co.uk/hc/en-us/articles/360059170212-About-Bulb-s-EV-Tariff

Would Octopus move customers over "like for like" though? I'm getting solar + batteries installed, and I see it as getting it from Octopus energy gives me two options:

Either lie, and say I've got an EV and get the Octopus Go tariff OR

Get the agile tariff. If you've lied about having an EV, when they bring out one just for batteries that puts you at a possible disadvantage unless ofc you lie again and say you sold the car