Energy price increase v export price reduction

ceejay804

Hi, I have been exporting my unused electricity from solar panels since the end of August at some good rates. Since the increases on 1 Oct the agile rates I was benefiting have greatly decreased. Does anyone gave any idea as to why this is happening?
I can provide examples if people are interested enough. It seems ridiculous why the profit margins are now even greater for the suppliers. I have asked Octopus why this is happening but nobody can give me an answer. 

[Deleted User]

Haven't the prices that customers pay on agile tariffs also dropped?  That would seem to match.

Alnat1

The demand for gas has been reduced, European countries have filled their storage tanks, the wind has been blowing the turbines and the weather has stayed mild so far.

Gas prices have dropped and this means the electricity prices drop too. Octopus Agile/Tracker prices have been very low this month and unfortunately for you, this includes the export price.

When the colder weather means we all crank up the heating, demand will return and prices will rise again.

[Deleted User]

ceejay804 said:

Hi, I have been exporting my unused electricity from solar panels since the end of August at some good rates. Since the increases on 1 Oct the agile rates I was benefiting have greatly decreased. Does anyone gave any idea as to why this is happening?
I can provide examples if people are interested enough. It seems ridiculous why the profit margins are now even greater for the suppliers. I have asked Octopus why this is happening but nobody can give me an answer. 

You seem to want the benefits of Agile Outgoing without appreciating the downside of being on a wholesale market following tariff.  Agile and Tracker tariffs are the first to react to changing wholesale prices. As described above, wholesalers are struggling to give gas away. LNG tanker owners cannot afford to leave their ships sitting off the Welsh Coast waiting for gas demand to rise. My unit price for gas has been below 3p/KWh for past few days.

Suppliers are not, in the main, generators or wholesalers and they are not making large profits on the present tariffs on offer. 

If you want export price certainty, then switch to Octopus Fixed Outgoing at 15p/kWh.

Edit: These are the wholesale prices of gas up until 5 days ago.

ceejay804

[Deleted User] said:

ceejay804 said:

Hi, I have been exporting my unused electricity from solar panels since the end of August at some good rates. Since the increases on 1 Oct the agile rates I was benefiting have greatly decreased. Does anyone gave any idea as to why this is happening?
I can provide examples if people are interested enough. It seems ridiculous why the profit margins are now even greater for the suppliers. I have asked Octopus why this is happening but nobody can give me an answer. 

You seem to want the benefits of Agile Outgoing without appreciating the downside of being on a wholesale market following tariff.  Agile and Tracker tariffs are the first to react to changing wholesale prices. As described above, wholesalers are struggling to give gas away. LNG tanker owners cannot afford to leave their ships sitting off the Welsh Coast waiting for gas demand to rise. My unit price for gas has been below 3p/KWh for past few days.

Suppliers are not, in the main, generators or wholesalers and they are not making large profits on the present tariffs on offer. 

If you want export price certainty, then switch to Octopus Fixed Outgoing at 15p/kWh.

Edit: These are the wholesale prices of gas up until 5 days ago.

The rate I was on previously was 26.53p pkwh, since Oct 1st it’s 33.73 so that doesn’t really fit with your statement about me not appreciating the downside. If you’d like to explain what you mean I’d be more than happy to read it. 

[Deleted User]

ceejay804 said:

Dolor said:

ceejay804 said:

Hi, I have been exporting my unused electricity from solar panels since the end of August at some good rates. Since the increases on 1 Oct the agile rates I was benefiting have greatly decreased. Does anyone gave any idea as to why this is happening?
I can provide examples if people are interested enough. It seems ridiculous why the profit margins are now even greater for the suppliers. I have asked Octopus why this is happening but nobody can give me an answer. 

You seem to want the benefits of Agile Outgoing without appreciating the downside of being on a wholesale market following tariff.  Agile and Tracker tariffs are the first to react to changing wholesale prices. As described above, wholesalers are struggling to give gas away. LNG tanker owners cannot afford to leave their ships sitting off the Welsh Coast waiting for gas demand to rise. My unit price for gas has been below 3p/KWh for past few days.

Suppliers are not, in the main, generators or wholesalers and they are not making large profits on the present tariffs on offer. 

If you want export price certainty, then switch to Octopus Fixed Outgoing at 15p/kWh.

Edit: These are the wholesale prices of gas up until 5 days ago.

The rate I was on previously was 26.53p pkwh, since Oct 1st it’s 33.73 so that doesn’t really fit with your statement about me not appreciating the downside. If you’d like to explain what you mean I’d be more than happy to read it. 

The 'downside' of having import and export prices linked to the wholesale price is that they can go up and down fast.  This isn't the same as the SVT cap changing (which is what happened on 1 Oct).

You're trying to compare your very variable agile tariff with an almost static government capped price.  Those two things shouldn't be compared.

Compare instead the prices paid by people on agile supply tariffs with what you have been paid on the agile outgoing.  You will find that as the price they pay goes down, the price you have been paid goes down - exactly as it should.

[Deleted User]

A graph saves a 1000 words. This is the Agile Outgoing pricing for my region for the past 7 days. As you can see for most of the time, Fixed Outgoing gives a better return. In truth, it really depends on how much you can export and when. I have a 6.35kWp array and my lowest generation on one day last December was 350Wh!

Just to backup the excellent linkage point made above. These were the Agile prices earlier today. No supplier is going to supply energy at a cheaper price than it pays for it.