Octopus Agile

Telegraph_Sam

That's interesting. My impression of Agile is that it's a relatively high risk, high gain proposition based on the user being able and willing to shift large numbers into the wee small hours in order to offset high SC's and any incursions into the 4 - 7 pm danger zone.  Which to me comes over as the tail wagging the dog in lifestyle terms. A case of think twice and heed any informed advice on offer before taking the jump.

Effician

Telegraph_Sam said:

That's interesting. My impression of Agile is that it's a relatively high risk, high gain proposition based on the user being able and willing to shift large numbers into the wee small hours in order to offset high SC's and any incursions into the 4 - 7 pm danger zone.  Which to me comes over as the tail wagging the dog in lifestyle terms. A case of think twice and heed any informed advice on offer before taking the jump.

That about sums it up, i like to think of it as some of the benefits & limitations of solar generation (with the added benefit of wind generation)  but without forking out for the install ,  it should only get better for Agile users as the UK goes full on with more renewable schemes.

Telegraph_Sam

I hope you're right (having myself shelled out for solar installation). A case of watch this (forum) space ..

Spoonie_Turtle

It really depends on your usage and existing usage patterns, hence doing your own comparisons. 

We haven't really load shifted but I seem to recall writing something like this already so I won't repeat myself.  We do have fairly high usage though, even without the heat pump - the electric shower itself accounts for a fair chunk of it (no choice, wet room installed - for which I am eternally grateful - it was just disappointing on the energy usage front!).  There's been very little wagging of the tail here, only for days like today where you do washing that might otherwise have been spread out over two or three days, into one day to take advantage of cheap and plunge pricing.  Or if the dishwasher or washing machine are due for a cleaning cycle.  So not exactly huge impact on everyday tasks, but it is a good nudge to do those sort of periodic tasks that aren't urgent but could do with being done now and then.

Chrysalis

Telegraph_Sam said:

That's interesting. My impression of Agile is that it's a relatively high risk, high gain proposition based on the user being able and willing to shift large numbers into the wee small hours in order to offset high SC's and any incursions into the 4 - 7 pm danger zone.  Which to me comes over as the tail wagging the dog in lifestyle terms. A case of think twice and heed any informed advice on offer before taking the jump.

Tracker is just as risky when you look at average cost across the day.  They both have the 100p cap.

I think its a myth you need to do serious early morning load shifting to benefit.  Most could just avoid heavy use from 4-7pm and it easily will beat SVR, and "might"  beat tracker depending on how spread out your usage is.
But if usage is spread out enough as mine is, then even 4-7pm doesnt matter that much.
A while back the tracker formula got changed and has changed multiple times since, QrizB posted about it, thats when I went back to Agile the 2nd time, as it pushed things a bit favourably towards Agile.
The people that should stay away from Agile are who have a lifestyle that has the bulk of their usage from 4-7pm consistently.
There is a thread on here, when I got Octopus to rebill me on Agile (well credit me I should say) when they billed from SVR, and it included those high priced Jan 2025 periods, and it was still £6 or so cheaper than SVR.

masonic

Chrysalis said:

The people that should stay away from Agile are who have a lifestyle that has the bulk of their usage from 4-7pm consistently.

It's been further complicated by the emergence of a standing charge premium for Agile vs other tariffs. This can be as much as 12p per day in some regions. So as well as those who use much more (than the proportional 12.5% of daily use) between 4-7pm, low users (<5 kWh/day) will probably not be suited to this tariff. The secondary peak period between ~6:30-8:30am is another detractor, though this doesn't always happen and doesn't have the added penalty in the formula of the 4-7pm period.

Agile tends to present the most risk when prices spike, and also the best opportunities when prices plunge, and it has been shown that people can quite efficiently jump on and off to avoid the worst days. Whereas Tracker looks more attractive to those not suited to Agile for the reasons above, the savings are no longer substantial due to formula changes, the ability to rejoin after leaving is restricted, and so the certainty of a fix can be had for very little additional cost - and more freedom to change if you want to.

RavingMad

Telegraph_Sam said:

I hope you're right (having myself shelled out for solar installation). A case of watch this (forum) space ..

Have you posted on the green and ethical board re your journey into solar? Plenty of good advice there.

t0rt0ise

masonic said:

Chrysalis said:

The people that should stay away from Agile are who have a lifestyle that has the bulk of their usage from 4-7pm consistently.

It's been further complicated by the emergence of a standing charge premium for Agile vs other tariffs. This can be as much as 12p per day in some regions. So as well as those who use much more (than the proportional 12.5% of daily use) between 4-7pm, low users (<5 kWh/day) will probably not be suited to this tariff. The secondary peak period between ~6:30-8:30am is another detractor, though this doesn't always happen and doesn't have the added penalty in the formula of the 4-7pm period.

Agile tends to present the most risk when prices spike, and also the best opportunities when prices plunge, and it has been shown that people can quite efficiently jump on and off to avoid the worst days. Whereas Tracker looks more attractive to those not suited to Agile for the reasons above, the savings are no longer substantial due to formula changes, the ability to rejoin after leaving is restricted, and so the certainty of a fix can be had for very little additional cost - and more freedom to change if you want to.

Not everyone has a higher SC on Agile. Some do, some don't. Mine is lower on Agile. Wouldn't want to put people off looking into it by people saying there is a premium and not saying it's only for some.

GingerTim

masonic said:

Chrysalis said:

The people that should stay away from Agile are who have a lifestyle that has the bulk of their usage from 4-7pm consistently.

It's been further complicated by the emergence of a standing charge premium for Agile vs other tariffs. This can be as much as 12p per day in some regions. So as well as those who use much more (than the proportional 12.5% of daily use) between 4-7pm, low users (<5 kWh/day) will probably not be suited to this tariff. The secondary peak period between ~6:30-8:30am is another detractor, though this doesn't always happen and doesn't have the added penalty in the formula of the 4-7pm period.

Agile tends to present the most risk when prices spike, and also the best opportunities when prices plunge, and it has been shown that people can quite efficiently jump on and off to avoid the worst days. Whereas Tracker looks more attractive to those not suited to Agile for the reasons above, the savings are no longer substantial due to formula changes, the ability to rejoin after leaving is restricted, and so the certainty of a fix can be had for very little additional cost - and more freedom to change if you want to.

As a counterpoint, I'm a low user (between 2.5 and 3kwh on average per day) and Agile is still the cheapest tariff out there for me. I've no solar or batter storage, but purely by getting back from work after 19.00 I save about 20p a day compared to a fixed tariff or Tracker - and much more when the prices drop. I otherwise live my life and use energy as and when I need it.

Even during the spike in mid-December there was only one day for me when Agile was more expensive.

Telegraph_Sam

@masonic: Tks for your summary of the pros & cons, and the one that preceded it. It is obviously a multi-dimensional beast. Overriding the technical factors - which you have to take into account to make best use of it - is the tail wagging dog hassle factor.  Folk like me that want to do their initial homework and then not be bothered about constantly re-visiting the topic. In this respect Tracker, less volatile, does have some advantages if not with SC's.
I'm on the 14-month Fix at present. It would take more than a penny or two to make me jump.