Cheapest off-peak electricity prices

rowan_bradley
rowan_bradley Forumite Posts: 6
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I have just had a battery system installed. I intended this to be principally used to store excess solar generation and use it when the sun is not shining. But I'm wondering whether it can also be charged up using cheaper off-peak electricty. It seems to me that I should be able to fully charge the battery using the cheapest power that I can find, and use it during the rest of the day. and thereby get most or all the electricity I need at the cheap rate. This seems particularly relevant during the winter when there is little sun.I'm therefore trying to find out who has the cheapest available rate for off peak. I see that Octopus has a tarriff that offers off peak during the night at 5p per unit. Is this the cheapest available? Does anyone offer cheaper? Of course it also depends on the standing charge. If this is excessive it will negate the savings on units.

Thank you - Rowan
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  • QrizB
    QrizB Forumite Posts: 11,385
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    The absolute cheapest off-peak electricity is on Octopus Agile, where they occasionally pay you to take electricity off their hands (often called "plunge pricing"). But that's uncommon.
    Octopus has other tariffs with cheap off-peak periods but they may have other qualifying factors - eg. owning an electric vehicle.
    I don't think any of these tariffs are as cheap as 5p/kWh at present, although I may be wrong.
    There are some useful charts at https://energy-stats.uk/ that let you compare Octopus smart tariffs available in each UK electricity supply region.

    N. Hampshire, he/him. Octopus Go elec & Tracker gas / Shell BB / Lyca mobi. Ripple Kirk Hill member.
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  • bristolleedsfan
    bristolleedsfan Forumite Posts: 11,661
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    edited 31 May at 1:46PM
    No Octopus 5p kWh off peak tariffs, might be worth a look for more rate certainty than agile.

    https://octopus.energy/smart/flux/
  • Spoonie_Turtle
    Spoonie_Turtle Forumite Posts: 6,710
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    Of course it also depends on the standing charge. If this is excessive it will negate the savings on units.
    Standing charge is likely to be pretty much the same between suppliers, unless any whack them up on fixed tariffs.
  • michaels
    michaels Forumite Posts: 27,493
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    Try looking for E7 tariffs
    I think....
  • rowan_bradley
    rowan_bradley Forumite Posts: 6
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    michaels said:
    Try looking for E7 tariffs

    All the E7 tarriffs are much more expensive than Octopus's flexible tarriffs (which can be as low as 7.5p/kWh at nighttime). Do you know of any E7 tarriffs that can beat this?

    Rowan
  • rowan_bradley
    rowan_bradley Forumite Posts: 6
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    No Octopus 5p kWh off peak tariffs, might be worth a look for more rate certainty than agile.

    I don't need rate certainty, I just need the cheapest rate I can get on average over the year. I will need about 2-3  hours to fully charge my battery. I can write some software to download the rates every day and choose the cheapest timeslots to charge my battery (if the rates change every day, which they do for some of the Octopus taffiffs).

    Rowan

  • Swipe
    Swipe Forumite Posts: 4,643
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    If you live in the East of England I believe EDF has the cheapest night rate on E7
  • Petriix
    Petriix Forumite Posts: 1,889
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    You're almost certainly better on Octopus Flux for the summer then likely EDF Economy 7 in the winter. 
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Forumite Posts: 114,229
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    michaels said:
    Try looking for E7 tariffs

    All the E7 tarriffs are much more expensive than Octopus's flexible tarriffs (which can be as low as 7.5p/kWh at nighttime). Do you know of any E7 tarriffs that can beat this?

    Rowan
    East of England EDF is 8p before VAT.   Its doing me nicely.    That is two quarters of their current off-peak bias.  We should know if its going to continue in a few weeks when the new rates are published.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • michaels
    michaels Forumite Posts: 27,493
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    edited 31 May at 10:32PM
    dunstonh said:
    michaels said:
    Try looking for E7 tariffs

    All the E7 tarriffs are much more expensive than Octopus's flexible tarriffs (which can be as low as 7.5p/kWh at nighttime). Do you know of any E7 tarriffs that can beat this?

    Rowan
    East of England EDF is 8p before VAT.   Its doing me nicely.    That is two quarters of their current off-peak bias.  We should know if its going to continue in a few weeks when the new rates are published.
    E7 also gives 7 hours compared to the 4(?) on Octopus go and doesn't require an EV and as mentioned of late in some regions has had a cheaper night rate.
    I think....
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