Octopus Agile

silverwhistle

I've been hanging in there on Agile but it's been hard work! I've 4kWp of solar which helps a lot and although no domestic battery my car does have V2L which I've used on particular painful peaks as I can't manage without a cuppa.. I've a portable induction hob which has also been used a few times.Yesterday via my solar and a granny charger I put around 6kWh into the car before the clouds started to play around. Looks like early next week, possibly at the weekend, will be decent and as it's due to be wet my new tumble drier might see the benefit.

akh43

I am considering jumping ship from Agile due to the expensive prices recently and the fact that due to my solar (no battery) I seem to lose out on any plunge prices. Octopus compare is saying the Agile is more expensive that SVT and has been all month, I added the LSC, but not enough info yet to compare as only did it a couple of days ago. Already moved my Gas to Fuse a couple of month ago and MSE bringing up Fuse as the best option. Not fully sure what would happened to my Export tariff if I moved my electric elsewhere.

I am looking at the low standing charge tariff (now been pulled but been offered after calling) and they have emailed me the tariff details, seems to be the V5 tariff -

unit rate 30.96p/kwh

standing charge 26.51p/day

Is there a way I can compare against my current Agile tariff to get an idea of whether the LSC would actually be better for me? No longer coming up on the comparison sites to enable me to do this.

My electric usage over the past 12 months was 1,975kwh (updated usage as miscalculated).

Thanks

QrizB

Comparing Agile with other tariffs is always fraught, and we've had several long discussions of it over the years. You can compare with what's happened in the past but no-one knows what Agile rates will apply for the next 12 months.

If you want certainty, take a fix. If you don't mind a little bit of variation, take a variable tariff. If you like to spin the wheel and take your chances, Agile.

JerryW

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82117021#Comment_82117021

Indeed. Most of those jumping ship are just not agile enough :-)

Personally I don't have time to spare to fret over electricity prices. Kudos, to those that do. Agile gives us a daily window, 10-16.00, when its cheap and we just put big usage there.

Spoonie_Turtle

We're reasonably agile (although we've never been able to properly pursue maximising the cheapest slots) but when a shower in the evening or in the morning is costing 30+p/kWh and the 'cheap' period in the middle of the day is barely below the SVT, something has to give.

I also don't quite understand why it's all so expensive still so have no idea what to look out for to signal potentially lowering prices on the horizon (medium-term I mean, not isolated cheaper days here and there).

Netexporter

It's expensive because the Orange Idiot started an unnecessary war. If the government would get a move on with disconnection the electricity price from the price of gas then prices will fall, the spark gap will close, and more people will be encourage to electrify.

NedS

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82117320#Comment_82117320

I'm not so sure prices will fall that much. The more renewable energy we have on the grid, with prices locked in through CfD, the less volatility we should see due to gas pricing.

I asked ChatGPT how much electricity prices would be if gas were half what it is now and if gas were completely free. ChatGPT thinks that for current electricity prices of 26.3p/kWh, we would see pricing of 20-23p/kWh for a 50% reduction in gas prices, and 17-20p/kWh if gas were free.

Spoonie_Turtle

Oh dear, a new war? My understanding/recollection was the situation in the Middle East (I can't keep up with which countries the US' allies were bombing) was why things were expensive for a while before and why everyone panicked and fixes shot up and our prices shot up, but then things calmed down a bit. Agile prices were tolerable. Then the heatwaves came and very little wind so things were expensive, and now they're just as expensive even with more wind and a lot less heat - which is where my understanding is lacking.

So I am genuinely asking, did I miss a new war / new country(ies) being attacked and is that what you meant as being the reason?

akh43

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82117306#Comment_82117306

We don't use very much and most of it the past few months has been covered by my solar, daily average usage 3-5kwh, but had the worse solar day for months at only 2.63kwh generated and the next week is showing rain every day 😔I have not known agile have the consistently bad rates all day the time I have been on it, just over a year and often miss out on the lower prices due to my solar. With the 2 potential price increases coming I think I will make the move, just debating whether to go with the cheapest price with fuse or stick with Octopus on the LSC tariff as I am a low user so at least may save a little on the standing charge 🤞🏻

QrizB

So I am genuinely asking, did I miss a new war / new country(ies) being attacked and is that what you meant as being the reason?

It's the same war.

The shooting has (mostly) stopped but ships carrying oil and gas still aren't moving freely through the Strait of Hormuz. Transits through the strait are down from ~100/day to fewer than 10/day.