No help or support available - Octopus price rise

adidas

Both of us work and are self-employed. We won't be eligible for any government support as we're not on benefits and our home is in a higher tax band. 

We need electric to be able to work from home. What options do we have in terms of alternatives to paying for gas and electricity? What if we cut off our supply? Can we generate gas/elec in another way? What are the consequences of cutting off our gas for example? Will our pipes be okay over the Winter? We have a microwave so we could use that to make meals. We have a log burner and thinking of acquiring free wood to burn in that instead. We also use a combi boiler for showers at the moment so considering an electric shower might help to save on costs or maybe we can boil a kettle instead for hot water.

We are already behind with our payments anyway so not sure about these price rises and feeling desperate and sad today.

We are with Octopus flexible avro - bill period: April 2022- June 2022
@ 7.08p/kWh unit price gas
@ 25.92p/day standing charge gas

@ 26.94p/kWh unit price electricity
@ 45.60p/day standing price electricity
electric used: 753.9 kWh
gas used: 3027.3 kWh

We looked at the fixed rate 12m loyalty Octopus, tried the calculator from MSE and it said to consider switching, this would bring our bills for gas / electric to £517/month
Is it worth holding out for further price cap announcements which is approx £3500 now?

⚡ Electricity

Daily standing charge	47.88p /day
Unit rate	67.49p /kWh
Early exit fee	£0

🔥 Gas

Daily standing charge	27.22p /day
Unit rate	18.90p /kWh
Early exit fee	£0

MSE_James

Keep in mind that you will get the £400 support via the Energy Bills Support Scheme

pochase

You might want a look at Octopus Agile for electricity and Octopus tracker for gas.

Not necessarily cheaper until January, but after. And much cheaper than the fixed tariff you quoted.

adidas

How long are the Octopus Agile and Octopus tracker available for?

adidas

Will those rates be available on a fixed basis after Jan?

Spies

adidas said:

How long are the Octopus Agile and Octopus tracker available for?

12 months from the date you sign up.

pochase

They are not a "fixed" rate, what they have is a maximum (capped) rate for 12 month, not guaranteed but Octopus is known to honour this caps.

For Agile it is currently 55p for electricity, so 55p is the maximum you pay, but it could also be much less for example at night or on the weekend. This is the reason you need a working smart meter for this tariff, the price changes every 30 minutes.

Currently the reality is that the price for electricity that Octopus buys is higher than the 55p, so it works like a fixed 55p tariff at the moment. The moment this changes you will benefit from the cheaper price. 

Tracker works similar for gas, but the gas price only changes once per day. Not sure what the cap for the current version of tracker is.

Spies

Latest Gas Tracker is 16p/wh

adidas

Okay thanks - I can't apply for the Agile tariff yet because I don't have a smart meter. I've registered my interest. Worried they may end up withdrawing it before I even get a chance to use it. Can I buy a private smart meter? Any ideas how long they will take to install it?

bristolleedsfan

adidas said:

Okay thanks - I can't apply for the Agile tariff yet because I don't have a smart meter. 

Go on Octopus Tracker for both fuels, Tracker has advantage of possible cheaper days whereas Agile has advantage of possible cheaper hours within a day - currently they are both stuck at 55pkWh 24 hours for electricity.

Would need to contact them asap to change tariff, electricity maximum product capped rate 55p kWh, gas maximum product capped rate 16pkwh fixed term 12 months  https://octopus.energy/tracker/

Worth asking them if they can delay tariff change start date for a month

adidas

Thanks is there no way I can privately get a smart meter installed asap to get the other tariff? Can I ask why ask them for a delay? Is it to make the most of the current lower prices?