Octopus Agile

Bendo

They don't tend to revise the agile tariff in line with the cap so the may not change it until they do another formula revision. 

It was a point of contention for many when the cap standing charge for most areas went down but agile tariff never uodated with new rates for new joiners.

wrf12345

The Cosy s/c seems to follow the general downward trend, the Agile rate does not - perhaps to discourage the ultra low users (circa 1kw a day), and yes fixed for twelve months on Agile but updated every three months on Cosy.

masonic

wrf12345 said:

The Cosy s/c seems to follow the general downward trend, the Agile rate does not - perhaps to discourage the ultra low users (circa 1kw a day), and yes fixed for twelve months on Agile but updated every three months on Cosy.

Agile is perhaps alone in very rarely updating. If you are an ultra low user, the mental bandwidth associated with a continually changing tariff like Agile is best avoided. The annual saving vs a flat rate fix is going to be minimal.

Netexporter

I think the initial low S/C was a loss leader to attract people to try a novel tariff. The margin on consumption is too thin to support an S/C discount, particularly for low users, so they charge essentially the full-fat SVT rate, to cover all their costs in providing a supply. Cuts out the second homers, too.

wrf12345

I suspect that Ofgem will enforce zero s/c tariffs, next January, for TOU tariffs only, and then only if you have a prepayment smart meter of the latest type and only for council tax bands A-C, or some such obscure combination of requirements to limit the "damage" done to their friends at retail energy. As a very low user on Agile I agree that it is hardly worth the effort and only gave up when the lowish s/c expired after 12 months and luckily then able to take advantage of the reduced s/c's that came in for the std and fixed tariffs (although the latter are optional and not capped).

masonic

wrf12345 said:

I suspect that Ofgem will enforce zero s/c tariffs, next January, for TOU tariffs only, and then only if you have a prepayment smart meter of the latest type and only for council tax bands A-C, or some such obscure combination of requirements to limit the "damage" done to their friends at retail energy. As a very low user on Agile I agree that it is hardly worth the effort and only gave up when the lowish s/c expired after 12 months and luckily then able to take advantage of the reduced s/c's that came in for the std and fixed tariffs (although the latter are optional and not capped).

What makes you suspect Ofgem will enforce zero s/c tariffs for TOU tariffs? I'd be surprised if they require suppliers to offer any new tariff other than a NSC version of SVT. Likely on much the same basis as they existed in the past, with a 25-30p premium on the first couple of units consumed per day.

KevinG

masonic said:

wrf12345 said:

I suspect that Ofgem will enforce zero s/c tariffs, next January, for TOU tariffs only, and then only if you have a prepayment smart meter of the latest type and only for council tax bands A-C, or some such obscure combination of requirements to limit the "damage" done to their friends at retail energy. As a very low user on Agile I agree that it is hardly worth the effort and only gave up when the lowish s/c expired after 12 months and luckily then able to take advantage of the reduced s/c's that came in for the std and fixed tariffs (although the latter are optional and not capped).

What makes you suspect Ofgem will enforce zero s/c tariffs for TOU tariffs? I'd be surprised if they require suppliers to offer any new tariff other than a NSC version of SVT. Likely on much the same basis as they existed in the past, with a 25-30p premium on the first couple of units consumed per day.

Indeed, it will be exactly the opposite of "TOU tariffs only" and definitely won't require a smart meter.

t0rt0ise

pete-20-11 said:

Anyone know what's happening to agile standing charge in October?

I'm looking to switch to it. 

I guess it will probably go up rather than down, so perhaps join it end of Sept rather than early Oct would be wise?

The standing charge on agile hasn't changed for years. In London the sc for other tariffs increased when other areas went down but agile hasn't yet gone up. Hope it stays like that for a long time yet.

pete-20-11

t0rt0ise said:

pete-20-11 said:

Anyone know what's happening to agile standing charge in October?

I'm looking to switch to it. 

I guess it will probably go up rather than down, so perhaps join it end of Sept rather than early Oct would be wise?

The standing charge on agile hasn't changed for years. In London the sc for other tariffs increased when other areas went down but agile hasn't yet gone up. Hope it stays like that for a long time yet.

Would be nice if it went down, it's 10p more per day than IOF in the Midlands. 

laidbackgjr

pete-20-11 said:

t0rt0ise said:

pete-20-11 said:

Anyone know what's happening to agile standing charge in October?

I'm looking to switch to it. 

I guess it will probably go up rather than down, so perhaps join it end of Sept rather than early Oct would be wise?

The standing charge on agile hasn't changed for years. In London the sc for other tariffs increased when other areas went down but agile hasn't yet gone up. Hope it stays like that for a long time yet.

Would be nice if it went down, it's 10p more per day than IOF in the Midlands. 

The regional variation in sc and changes between tariffs is odd, Agile is the cheapest sc from Octopus for Merseyside and North Wales.