Switching Providers: from Bulb to Octopus

norsefox

We will take delivery of an electric vehicle next month, and coincidentally, have solar panels installed in the next week.

Given the government's intention to transfer Bulb's remaining customers to Octopus, I had hoped that this would complete on its own without any need for us to 'switch' manually.

In light of the legal challenges reported yesterday, it looks like this could take a while to complete (if at all).

Is there any reason why I wouldn't just switch to Octopus manually?  I'm only mindful of somehow experiencing issues with the £67 of monthly credit when switching between providers.

The reason for switching is to get onto Octopus Go, though we don't have a smart meter so that will need installed (again, why it makes sense to do so sooner rather than later). 

I understand that the feed-in tariff is 4p/kwh as Outgoing Octopus cannot currently work in conjunction with the EV tariff.  That's fine for now, as it's not likely that we'll be generating much electricity, and certainly not beyond our own needs.

MattMattMattUK

norsefox said:

We will take delivery of an electric vehicle next month, and coincidentally, have solar panels installed in the next week.

Given the government's intention to transfer Bulb's remaining customers to Octopus, I had hoped that this would complete on its own without any need for us to 'switch' manually.

In light of the legal challenges reported yesterday, it looks like this could take a while to complete (if at all).

Is there any reason why I wouldn't just switch to Octopus manually?  I'm only mindful of somehow experiencing issues with the £67 of monthly credit when switching between providers.

The reason for switching is to get onto Octopus Go, though we don't have a smart meter so that will need installed (again, why it makes sense to do so sooner rather than later). 

I understand that the feed-in tariff is 4p/kwh as Outgoing Octopus cannot currently work in conjunction with the EV tariff.  That's fine for now, as it's not likely that we'll be generating much electricity, and certainly not beyond our own needs.

You might as well switch now, although realistically you will probably be waiting 6+ months for a smart meter, but it is still better to get things moving. Are you installing batteries at the same time as solar, it could certainly be worth it as on Go and with solar panels you could have almost no daytime grid draw for most if not all of the year, depending on capacity installed. 

MWT

norsefox said:

Is there any reason why I wouldn't just switch to Octopus manually?  I'm only mindful of somehow experiencing issues with the £67 of monthly credit when switching between providers.

Whoever supplies you on the 1st of the month is responsible for that months payment.

norsefox said:

The reason for switching is to get onto Octopus Go, though we don't have a smart meter so that will need installed (again, why it makes sense to do so sooner rather than later). 

Not sure if/how quickly Bulb are fitting smart meters, but it is probably worth checking if they can do it for you anytime soon before switching, just in case Octopus can't get an early date for you...

Also depending upon which EV and charger you have, Intelligent Octopus may be a cheaper/better option for you. If you have not yet fitted a charger, do check on this before you make a decision...

norsefox said:

I understand that the feed-in tariff is 4p/kwh as Outgoing Octopus cannot currently work in conjunction with the EV tariff.  That's fine for now, as it's not likely that we'll be generating much electricity, and certainly not beyond our own needs.

It is a SEG not FiT, as FiT ended some time ago, but yes your export rate will be limited if you are on one of the EV tariffs...

welshblob

I'm thinking of doing the same if there is a delay and I'm not an EV user .... I want decent data/  api access which is lacking in Bulbs system. TBH I doubt that Octopus would have moved all 1.5m in one go anyway and it would have been done in batches over a few months. 
Although I have no real insight into the deal that was made it always felt like too big a risk at the time with the volatility in the market for any provider to take on 1.5m customers. Just wonder if, now there seems to be a view that energy prices will plateau or drop a bit next year then they are throwing their toys our of the pram. 

norsefox

MattMattMattUK said:

norsefox said:

We will take delivery of an electric vehicle next month, and coincidentally, have solar panels installed in the next week.

Given the government's intention to transfer Bulb's remaining customers to Octopus, I had hoped that this would complete on its own without any need for us to 'switch' manually.

In light of the legal challenges reported yesterday, it looks like this could take a while to complete (if at all).

Is there any reason why I wouldn't just switch to Octopus manually?  I'm only mindful of somehow experiencing issues with the £67 of monthly credit when switching between providers.

The reason for switching is to get onto Octopus Go, though we don't have a smart meter so that will need installed (again, why it makes sense to do so sooner rather than later). 

I understand that the feed-in tariff is 4p/kwh as Outgoing Octopus cannot currently work in conjunction with the EV tariff.  That's fine for now, as it's not likely that we'll be generating much electricity, and certainly not beyond our own needs.

You might as well switch now, although realistically you will probably be waiting 6+ months for a smart meter, but it is still better to get things moving. Are you installing batteries at the same time as solar, it could certainly be worth it as on Go and with solar panels you could have almost no daytime grid draw for most if not all of the year, depending on capacity installed. 

Thanks for the response.  No battery being installed.  The ROI is likely to be 10+ years, only extended further by having a car (which for at least some of the week, effectively acts as a daytime battery).  It may be a case of retro-adding one later, but I can't see the justification right now.

norsefox

MWT said:

norsefox said:

Is there any reason why I wouldn't just switch to Octopus manually?  I'm only mindful of somehow experiencing issues with the £67 of monthly credit when switching between providers.

Whoever supplies you on the 1st of the month is responsible for that months payment.

norsefox said:

The reason for switching is to get onto Octopus Go, though we don't have a smart meter so that will need installed (again, why it makes sense to do so sooner rather than later). 

Not sure if/how quickly Bulb are fitting smart meters, but it is probably worth checking if they can do it for you anytime soon before switching, just in case Octopus can't get an early date for you...

Also depending upon which EV and charger you have, Intelligent Octopus may be a cheaper/better option for you. If you have not yet fitted a charger, do check on this before you make a decision...

norsefox said:

I understand that the feed-in tariff is 4p/kwh as Outgoing Octopus cannot currently work in conjunction with the EV tariff.  That's fine for now, as it's not likely that we'll be generating much electricity, and certainly not beyond our own needs.

It is a SEG not FiT, as FiT ended some time ago, but yes your export rate will be limited if you are on one of the EV tariffs...

Thanks for the response.  I'll check with Bulb on getting the Smart meter installed - as you say, the timelines may be similar, but worth checking.

Unfortunately, the charger being installed is not currently compatible with Intelligent Octopus, and neither is the car make/model (Renault Megane).  I would expect that to change, but perhaps not for a while.  An oversight perhaps.

We went with the highest Which recommendation (alongside other very positive reviews), as the charger is also compatible with the solar system to direct excess generation in the summer to the car.  A few can do this, but it was important.

[Deleted User]

the charger being installed is not currently compatible with Intelligent Octopus

If it is a Zappi, then watch this space. 

As suggested above, Octopus pays a reduced SEG payment of 4p/kWh for those on Go. Go’s offpeak price has now increased to 12p/kWh. The downside of Go is that it is now a fixed 4 hour offpeak period from 0030 to 0430, and is now deemed to be a variable tariff.

norsefox

[Deleted User] said:

the charger being installed is not currently compatible with Intelligent Octopus

If it is a Zappi, then watch this space. 

As suggested above, Octopus pays a reduced SEG payment of 4p/kWh for those on Go. Go’s offpeak price has now increased to 12p/kWh. The downside of Go is that it is now a fixed 4 hour offpeak period from 0030 to 0430, and is now deemed to be a variable tariff.

It's Hypervolt, unfortunately.  It may just be a case of having the SEG until such a time as other options catch up.

[Deleted User]

It may just be a case of having the SEG

Octopus pays 3 rates of SEG: 4p/kWh; 15p/kWh and Agile Outgoing (this was paying out over £1/kWh recently).

I am looking at switching to Octopus’ E7 tariff in March to avail myself of the benefits of Agile Outgoing. Octopus’ EV tariffs are not as cheap as they once were (sadly). 

At the end of the day, it comes down to actual EV use and the size of your solar array. It might well be better to export your excess solar than put it into your EV.

MWT

Dolor said:

... and Agile Outgoing (this was paying out over £1/kWh recently).

It would probably be fair to mention that most times you see a rate that high it will be at a time of day where you'd need to be exporting from a battery rather than directly from your array...