Meter Change

GoneWestWoman

matt_drummer said:

Out of curiosity, how much electricity do you consume a year?

What is the financial impact of being on a standard rate compared to cosy octopus?

Obviously, you don't need to tell us if you don't want to.

2019 = 3541off-peak + 1193 peak (annual bill £651.90)
2020 = 2971 off-peak + 1444 peak (annual bill £600.88)
2021 = 3858 off-peak + 1377 peak (annual bill £761.27)
2022 = 2345 off-peak + 1146 peak (annual bill £801.70)    NOTE:  E10 meter removed in May 2022
2023 to date = 1179 off-peak + 1445 peak (£956 paid to date) - August 2023

I have swapped off the E7 tariff wef mid August 2023 and gone to a standard one.

E7 off-peak hours (00:00 - 07:00) = 15.16p/kWh    Peak hours = 36.45p/kWh

Standard tariff (24 hrs) = 27.51p/kWh 

Obviously this initially looks like a silly thing do but WHEN I need heating I'll be saving because I can't run it in the off-peak hours.  Same for cooking.  The only "loss" will be not running the washing machine overnight but I'm washing on shorter programmes etc.  

Cosy Tariff = 00:00 - 03:59 = 30.30 p/kWh
                     04:00 - 06:59 = 18.18 p/kWh
                     07:00 - 12:59 = 30.30 p/kWh
                     13:00 - 15:59 = 18.18 p/kWh
                     16:00 - 18:59 = 48.47 p/kWh  NOTE - peak rate, best to use minimal electricity!
                     19:00 - 23:59 = 30.30 p/kWh

So Cosy could work if you run washing machine, hot water, shower early etc from 4-7am (and heating on from 6 am for an hour) plus heating on from 1-4pm with a boost after 7pm on the Day rate of 30.30?  You'd have to be disciplined but I made it work with E10 as you can see from the above table.

Happy to share the information ^_^

matt_drummer

Thank you.

It puts it into context.

I think you have done the right thing by moving to a standard tariff.

I know it is not any consolation but at its worst the standard tariff is `only' 50% more expensive than the cosy tariff assuming you used all your electricity during the six cheapest hours.

I expect that the reality is that you couldn't avoid electricity use in the more expensive periods so the impact is less than 50%

I suppose your E10 was better.

I have a heat pump and I wouldn't go anywhere near their cosy tariff, I think it's awful.

My heat pump was installed by Octopus and they should know better, you cannot heat a home with a heat pump in those six hours and expect to be warm, heat pumps don't work like that.


I wonder whether you could run your electric boiler at low flow temperatures a bit like a heat pump?

I don't know your home obviously but maybe running your boiler for longer but at low temperatures will keep you warmer for longer at a manageable cost?

Short bursts of high temperatures might feel good at the time but maybe that will not give you the most comfort for the money spent?

QrizB

AnnieRichards said:

matt_drummer said:

Out of curiosity, how much electricity do you consume a year?

What is the financial impact of being on a standard rate compared to cosy octopus?

Obviously, you don't need to tell us if you don't want to.

2019 = 3541off-peak + 1193 peak (annual bill £651.90)
2020 = 2971 off-peak + 1444 peak (annual bill £600.88)
2021 = 3858 off-peak + 1377 peak (annual bill £761.27)
2022 = 2345 off-peak + 1146 peak (annual bill £801.70)    NOTE:  E10 meter removed in May 2022
2023 to date = 1179 off-peak + 1445 peak (£956 paid to date) - August 2023

Your use for 2023 to date is split roughly 45% off-peak, 55% peak. At that split, E7 is marginally cheaper (£705 vs £723 on the tariff you quote below).

AnnieRichards said:

E7 off-peak hours (00:00 - 07:00) = 15.16p/kWh    Peak hours = 36.45p/kWh
Standard tariff (24 hrs) = 27.51p/kWh

Are those E7 prices the ex-VAT rates for Southern region? Octopus's current tariff card is:

However, the standard tariff in sputhern isn't currently 27.51p/kWh. Is that the reduced rate from the 1st of October?

matt_drummer

The other thing you could do to help is switch tariffs during the year.

You could be on E7 (or some other time of use tariff) when you need little to no heating and then switch to a standard tariff when the time comes that you need to make more use of the heating.

As long as you don't go for tariffs with early exit fees then this approach may help you.

GoneWestWoman

matt drummer - that’s exactly what I intend to do.   I need a hobby because this has become an obsession 😆

GoneWestWoman

QrizB - I live in the Southwest and have just checked my last bill and it definitely has my day and night units as 28.85 p/kWh for September which is not what’s on the table above 🤨🤨.  Also as at today (18/10/23) my unit price is 27.51.

I know that you have to put your postcode in when trying to get tariff prices so suspect it really does vary much more than people imagine.  Octopus are certainly not doing a special deal for me - I think they work it out by the “bloody nuisance” factor and I score highly on that graph.  Also I think all prices quoted are excluding VAT?

Also, my usage when I last posted was when the weather was still warm so no heating (my main issue) had been used since (?) February.  So you can expect those peak units to drastically change when the clocks change and the weather gets colder.  Lights go on earlier (currently 18:00), the tv etc is on for longer - can’t garden in the dark!  And hot food is better than a sandwich and a salad.  All would now be in peak hours when I would have not 9:00-21:00)

GoneWestWoman

QrizB - that last sentence should say “All would now be in peak hours when I would have not previously used my cooker before the “off-peak” period (19:00-21:00).

QrizB

AnnieRichards said:

QrizB - I live in the Southwest and have just checked my last bill and it definitely has my day and night units as 28.85 p/kWh for September which is not what’s on the table above 🤨🤨.  Also as at today (18/10/23) my unit price is 27.51.

28.85p/kWh plus 5% VAT gives the price from the table for the Southern region, 30.30p/kWh.

27.51p/kWh is the current VAT-inclusive price for the Southern region (SouthWest would be 27.18p/kWh).

Is your Distributor ID (the first two digits on the bottom line of your MPAN) 20 or 22? 20 is Southern, 22 is South Western.

AnnieRichards said:

Also, my usage when I last posted was when the weather was still warm so no heating (my main issue) had been used since (?) February.  So you can expect those peak units to drastically change when the clocks change and the weather gets colder.

But it did include the Jan/Feb/Mar half of the 2022/23 winter, so you might expect the first half of the 2023/24 winter to be similar? Indeed the year is not quite a mirror image about June/July, as Jan/Feb/Mar is usually colder than Oct/Nov/Dec.

If I was in your property, with your electricity consumption, I would be staying on E7.

matt_drummer

QrizB said:

If I was in your property, with your electricity consumption, I would be staying on E7.

Why?

She has an electric boiler and needs heat during the day.

Surely E7 would be the worst she could do?

Something like tracker would be good, for how long though, who knows?

QrizB

matt_drummer said:

QrizB said:

If I was in your property, with your electricity consumption, I would be staying on E7.

Why?

Because for the first half of the year when she was on E7, it was cheaper to do so. I would expect the second half of the year to be similar Did you not see the calculation?

"At that split, E7 is marginally cheaper (£705 vs £723 on the tariff you quote below)."

matt_drummer said:

She has an electric boiler and needs heat during the day.
Surely E7 would be the worst she could do?

Not according to the consumption figures and tariff details that have been provided.

Do you have different calculations that indicate otherwise? If so, I'd love to see them and I imagine the OP would too.

matt_drummer said:

Something like tracker would be good, for how long though, who knows?

The "who knows" is why I've not suggested it in recent posts.