Octopus Variable or fix now?

Alnat1

@deutsch as mentioned earlier in this post, the cheapest options from Octopus are the Tracker tariff for both gas and electricity. You can go on these without smart meters but have to be willing to have them fitted. If you already have a smart electric meter you can go for the Agile tariff.

Tracker has a max price of 55p/kWh for electric and 16p/kWh for gas. 

Agile electric only has a max price of 55p/kWh

deutsch

Alnat1 said:

@deutsch as mentioned earlier in this post, the cheapest options from Octopus are the Tracker tariff for both gas and electricity. You can go on these without smart meters but have to be willing to have them fitted. If you already have a smart electric meter you can go for the Agile tariff.

Tracker has a max price of 55p/kWh for electric and 16p/kWh for gas. 

Agile electric only has a max price of 55p/kWh

I guess those who don't have a smart meter or won't want to go, a fix is the next best bet.
The fix quoted 68.25/kWh for Electricity and 18.89/kWH.

What the smart meter trackers have a standing charge?

Alnat1

The SCs on Tracker gas and electric are the same as on SVT

deutsch

Looks like there's a waiting list though and probably an increase in demand due to today's news. I've signed up anyway.

tpeppers

Spoonie_Turtle said:

aallank said:

I don't have a smart meter and really don't want one.

Does this mean I can't get the tracker tariff?
I'm so confused.
My predicted bill is almost £500 per month. I'm only in a small bungalow!

We don't either and nor do we want one, not really - we've had meter trouble in the past and our current single rate meter just displays the reading, simple, easy, no buttons to press, no chance of getting it wrong, and it works properly.  We love it, don't want to change.

We first enquired about Tracker back when the electricity cap was 40p (Agile was 35p) and were told they would roll them out this summer to Tracker customers who didn't already have one.  Then the predictions kept getting worse and worse, Octopus' offered fixes went from 41p to 50+, then 60+ … and we realised either we relented and accepted the possibility of a smart meter, or had to pay through the nose for the SVT from January.

We've been on Tracker for less than a week now so if they have indeed started a rollout, we'll be a way down the list.  But crucially, the potential for things to go wrong with a smart meter was outweighed - for us - by the potential cost of having to pay full SVT rates which look likely to be nightmarish from January.  That's basically the decision you have to make too.

[The T&Cs of Tracker are that you accept one being fitted "eventually" or them reserving the right to take you off the tariff (and presumably onto the standard variable).]

Fair enough if you don't want a smart meter but I've found it pretty revolutionary. The ability to track exactly how much energy we're using throughout the day is not only interesting but also very useful. The phone app shows spikes when we put the oven or kettle on, and shows how much a shower costs, for example. We're certainly become a lot more conscious of energy use now and it has brought our usage down dramatically. 

Spoonie_Turtle

tpeppers said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

aallank said:

I don't have a smart meter and really don't want one.

Does this mean I can't get the tracker tariff?
I'm so confused.
My predicted bill is almost £500 per month. I'm only in a small bungalow!

We don't either and nor do we want one, not really - we've had meter trouble in the past and our current single rate meter just displays the reading, simple, easy, no buttons to press, no chance of getting it wrong, and it works properly.  We love it, don't want to change.

We first enquired about Tracker back when the electricity cap was 40p (Agile was 35p) and were told they would roll them out this summer to Tracker customers who didn't already have one.  Then the predictions kept getting worse and worse, Octopus' offered fixes went from 41p to 50+, then 60+ … and we realised either we relented and accepted the possibility of a smart meter, or had to pay through the nose for the SVT from January.

We've been on Tracker for less than a week now so if they have indeed started a rollout, we'll be a way down the list.  But crucially, the potential for things to go wrong with a smart meter was outweighed - for us - by the potential cost of having to pay full SVT rates which look likely to be nightmarish from January.  That's basically the decision you have to make too.

[The T&Cs of Tracker are that you accept one being fitted "eventually" or them reserving the right to take you off the tariff (and presumably onto the standard variable).]

Fair enough if you don't want a smart meter but I've found it pretty revolutionary. The ability to track exactly how much energy we're using throughout the day is not only interesting but also very useful. The phone app shows spikes when we put the oven or kettle on, and shows how much a shower costs, for example. We're certainly become a lot more conscious of energy use now and it has brought our usage down dramatically. 

If it were just me I would probably have signed up for one already, but it's my parents' house and anything going wrong affects them too - my Dad in particular is resistant to change and finds it hard to understand new things so it's a balance between doing what we can to work out and cut usage, and what everyone can actually cope with.

We have already been working out what things cost for known wattages such as the shower and light bulbs etc., and have a plug-in monitor which has properly started the investigation (in large part learning from and prompted by other 'why is my usage so high?' threads here).

deannagone

I am with Octopus and have finally requested a smart meter myself.  But I do agree, there seems to be a waiting list nowadays for smart meters to be fitted, so probably won't help me at all for some time. 

I am also looking at growing cries for lower rates for gas and electricity at lower useage times, which Octopus has trialed.  But not sure how well developed that tariff is and what the various unit prices actually are, how often really cut price units are offered.  So hard to assess how much it will save you.

Me being me (looking at the problem from every angle), I am also trying to find a workable way of putting solar panels in my garden and using those for part of my electricity useage.  Not an easy option, there is some information on the net, but not enough (can set up solar panels, can feed the energy into batteries but using that in the house - not a lot of info on that lol).  But long term, finding alternative means of sourcing energy has to become more common, I think, although I've never been part of the 'off grid' brigade (no insult intended) before.  The way prices are going has concentrated my thinking somewhat lol.  I've even written to my MP saying if local government could look at enabling people to use alternative energy sources it might save on having to pay large sums of money to reduce energy charges!  Probably not a lot of hope of being listened to seriously but I think we have to question approaches to obtaining energy more and more as a general population.

No way I am changing to a fixed tariff.  The prices are too high, and I'm not sure how long this 'high priced energy crisis' will continue. I don't see how yearly charges of £6-7k can be sustained.., something will have to give/some scheme to reduce prices will come into being.  I can't see how having 30% (probably more) of the population unable to pay their energy bills is sustainable.  Another reason for Energy Companies to go bust and I'm sure having a much larger proportion of the population with no electricity supply and CCJ's ultimately won't do much for the country either.

bristolleedsfan

deutsch said:

Looks like there's a waiting list though and probably an increase in demand due to today's news. I've signed up anyway.

No waiting list. contact then by email or twitter message asking to change to Octopus Tracker tariff

TheGardener

Octopus is offering me a fix at:
Electricity @ 71.56 kwh + Standing Charge 47.86p
Gas @ 19.76p/kwh + standing charge 27.22p

Is there a place on the Octopus site that shows my actual annual use or is it just a case of opening all the pdf bills and using a calculator? 

NeverendingDMP

TheGardener said:

Octopus is offering me a fix at:
Electricity @ 71.56 kwh + Standing Charge 47.86p
Gas @ 19.76p/kwh + standing charge 27.22p

Is there a place on the Octopus site that shows my actual annual use or is it just a case of opening all the pdf bills and using a calculator? 

If you open the bill up It will show you the annual use it's based on for the has and electricity. I think top right of each page/not quite sure. Electricity will be kWh per year and the gas will display in kWh as well. Opening different bills will help you work out different patterns in winter or summer maybe.