No more fixed tariffs?

Nodge51

Unless I misheard him, Martin Lewis said on TV this morning that there would be no more fixed electricity tariffs available. As I'm on Octopus Go which is a fixed tariff I'm wondering what will happen when my term expires next year. Will Go no longer be available? I have an electric car and currently I charge for 4 hours overnight at just 7.5p/kWh. If this cheap overnight rate will no longer be available it would be a big blow to my finances. I have also requested to join a pilot scheme for a car charger which would allow me to charge the car at the cheat rate at night and then run the house from the car battery at peak times during the day. The charger would cost £1600 but there would be no point if the cheap overnight rate was not available.

pochase

If you are on a fixed tariff they have to honour it.

Without having heard it I assume he was referring to new fixed tariffs.

BUFF

wait & see what happens come October 1st?
If Octopus continue to offer Go to new sign ups then it would suggest (nothing is guaranteed) that they are likely to continue to do so under the EPG for the next 2 years (albeit rates may differ from your current).

brook_heather

Which electric car do you have that will be able to reverse the charge and power your home?  I didn't think that was possible yet.  Wouldn't you need DNO permission for this?

[Deleted User]

brook_heather said:

Which electric car do you have that will be able to reverse the charge and power your home?  I didn't think that was possible yet.  Wouldn't you need DNO permission for this?

Would DNO permission to export but not if it's controlled to only ever power your local load.

Would also need anti-islanding in the charger, but that's not too hard as almost all solar pv inverters have the same function.

Ultrasonic

@Nodge51 your best bet for an accurate answer would probably be to ask Octopus what their plans are, but if your fix has a decent time still to run I wouldn't do so right now as they'll be extremely busy (and plans may change).

I'm sure Martin Lewis' comment re. fixes reflected what's happening in practice for the majority who are on more conventional tariffs, including Economy 7. The worst case for you would probably be switching to an E7 tariff in fact. Fixed tariffs haven't been somehow banned it's just that there's no point in energy companies offering them for conventional contracts right now as they'd all be more expensive than the government supported EPG tariffs. I've not seen anything specific to EV tariffs but possibly somebody else has and will be along to comment. 

Spoonie_Turtle

Unless Go / Go Faster became catastrophically unfeasible for Octopus, I can't imagine they'd stop offering it - their whole mission is to encourage less reliance on fossil fuels, which includes having worthwhile EV tariffs.

CanNeverThinkOfAUsername

Just by chance i happened to watch ML this morning on TV. I think he was talking about normal fixed tariffs, as the person who emailed in said her fix tariff is due to end and what should she do, he explained with the new cap just let it run on a variable as he can't see any fixed tariffs coming out for the time being.

I don't think he meant special tariffs like GO, GO Faster, etc will stop.

Ultrasonic

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Unless Go / Go Faster became catastrophically unfeasible for Octopus, I can't imagine they'd stop offering it - their whole mission is to encourage less reliance on fossil fuels, which includes having worthwhile EV tariffs.

The issue is that if there is no government support for them that they may end up much more expensive than currently, and depending on car usage possibly more expensive than the EPG.

Nodge51

brook_heather said:

Which electric car do you have that will be able to reverse the charge and power your home?  I didn't think that was possible yet.  Wouldn't you need DNO permission for this?

Currently the Nissan Leaf is the only car capable of this as it's the only one that charges with a CHAdeMO connector.

Nodge51

Nodge51 said:

brook_heather said:

Which electric car do you have that will be able to reverse the charge and power your home?  I didn't think that was possible yet.  Wouldn't you need DNO permission for this?

Currently the Nissan Leaf is the only car capable of this as it's the only one that charges with a CHAdeMO connector.

More info here indra.co.uk/v2h