Solar Panel Export Rates and fixed Standing Charge costs

Mobtr

Why is it that people who have been in a very good tariff over the whole energy crisis period  whinge the most when the tariff ends & they have to go onto prices most of us have paid over last year or so. Do they think they should have some sort of entitlement to continue to pay less than everyone else? 

[Deleted User]

DougMLancs said:

If you go for Intelligent then you are limited to a 4.1p/kWh export rate but solely because they obviously don’t want people importing at 7.5p/kWh and then exporting it at 15p/kWh. You can switch tariffs easily so depending on your EV usage over the summer, you can do some sums to compare if you’d be better off on Flux for April-June say and then switching to Intelligent for the rest of the year or staying on Intelligent throughout the year. 

FYI tariffs like Intelligent are actually loss leaders for Octopus. 

There is the 30 day rule which Octopus rarely imposes if the customer has been on a particular smart tariff for more than 30 days.

GingerTim

Mobtr said:

Why is it that people who have been in a very good tariff over the whole energy crisis period  whinge the most when the tariff ends & they have to go onto prices most of us have paid over last year or so. Do they think they should have some sort of entitlement to continue to pay less than everyone else? 

Yes - I got massively lucky taking out a 3 year fixed-term tariff that doesn't expire until August 2024. If you see me moaning come next year after that stroke of fortune, you have my permission to yell at me!

Robbark66

I haven't chosen 4.1 export as choice, Octopus have put me on it. If I go to Flux at 15p, the import costs are much higher so the export benefit will be wiped out very fast. I am bewildered as to why the wholesale price is about 11.5p , yet ofgem don't insist the suppliers pay small generators that. Instead, they are paying me 4.1 and charging me 30p so a 26p margin from my investment!
I don't think Intelligent is a loss leader- especially when the rest of the day id 30p soon 18.5 p margin as well as high standing charges.

I use circa 1000kWh / month of electricity. I'm struggling to find a tariff that will let me charge my car and battery at a cheap rate over night. Intelligent won't supply a Volvo XC40 recharge twin motor or accept tesla wall chargers!

We are being brain washed with propaganda to buy eve, wall batteries, heat pumps, solar etc, then stitched up on the energy we need. The system is rigged and corrupt from Ofgem down. Also, I can't get comparison quotes as my 3 phase smart meter is classed  as a business or multiple meters! I'm having an expensive nightmare.

DougMLancs

Octopus’ EV tariffs are loss leaders- if you charge your car battery overnight then say that’s 55kWh purchased at below wholesale cost. An average daytime house load is 10-15kWh so the bulk of your usage is always going to be bought at less than cost price. You’ve got two powerwalls however so I’m not sure why you need to worry much about daytime import costs. I do agree that the basic SEG rate should be reviewed and that more should be done to encourage suppliers other than Octopus to up their game. 

Also, wholesale costs are only a chunk of the cost of supplying electricity to the home https://www.nationalgrideso.com/electricity-explained/how-electricity-priced

MattMattMattUK

Robbark66 said:

I haven't chosen 4.1 export as choice, Octopus have put me on it.

You were put on a default tariff because your fixed deal came to an end and you had taken no action. You would have been put onto the SVT as that is what they are required to do when the customer does not choose anything else.

Robbark66 said:

If I go to Flux at 15p, the import costs are much higher so the export benefit will be wiped out very fast. I am bewildered as to why the wholesale price is about 11.5p , 

Or you could go on Octopus Fixed Export and get 15p per kWh. Being bewildered seems to be your issue rather than with the tariffs on offer.
https://octopus.energy/smart/outgoing/

Robbark66 said:

yet ofgem don't insist the suppliers pay small generators that.

The reality is they are paying you 4.1p per kWh because you have been inactive, you could have chosen to receive considerably more, but as you have not you fall back to the default tariff. 

Robbark66 said:

Instead, they are paying me 4.1 and charging me 30p so a 26p margin from my investment!

They are not making 26p per kWh even selling to you at 4.1p per kWh, they still have to pay the various other costs, at most they would be making 6-11p per kWh.

Robbark66 said:

I don't think Intelligent is a loss leader- especially when the rest of the day id 30p soon 18.5 p margin as well as high standing charges.

Your numbers are wrong, your premise is wrong, your understanding is wrong, standing charges are not high.

Robbark66 said:

I use circa 1000kWh / month of electricity. I'm struggling to find a tariff that will let me charge my car and battery at a cheap rate over night. Intelligent won't supply a Volvo XC40 recharge twin motor or accept tesla wall chargers!

You could install a compatible charger (Octopus will even install one for you) and then on Intelligent you would get 7.5p per kWh in the charging window, or you could choose Go and pay 9.5p per kWh in the charging window.

Robbark66 said:

We are being brain washed with propaganda to buy eve, wall batteries, heat pumps, solar etc, then stitched up on the energy we need. The system is rigged and corrupt from Ofgem down. 

We are not being brainwashed, it is not propaganda, all those things done properly offer significant monthly savings and an ROI of 3-5 years. You are not being stitched up, the system is not rigged, Ofgem is not corrupt. The problem appears to be that you entirely fail to understand the tariffs on offer and have not chosen the best tariffs for your situation (which would be Intelligent, with the correct charger for import and Fixed Export for your exported energy.

Robbark66 said:

Also, I can't get comparison quotes as my 3 phase smart meter is classed  as a business or multiple meters!

You do not need comparison sites to improve your energy billing situation and at the moment they are not much use anyway due to pretty much every supplier offering the same standard tariffs, although a few offer EV tariffs and Octopus offers those classed as experimental. 

Robbark66 said:

I'm having an expensive nightmare.

Entirely of your own making and one you could fix yourself in a matter of minutes. 

QrizB

Robbark66 said:

I haven't chosen 4.1 export as choice, Octopus have put me on it. If I go to Flux at 15p, the import costs are much higher so the export benefit will be wiped out very fast.

We seem to be failing to communicate.

Read @MattMattMattUK 's reply and try to understand your options rather than tilting at windmills.

Robbark66 said:

I am bewildered

I am bewildered as to how someone who has their own business and is evidently doing well enough to run two premium EVs and own a substantial solar-and-battery installation has got themselves quite so confused about energy tariffs.

Robbark66 said:

I'm having an expensive nightmare.

Sadly, it seems you are.

DougMLancs

My brother is on Intelligent and was previously getting 4.1p/kWh SEG but just had an email today to say he can sign up for outgoing fixed at 15p or Outgoing agile whilst still keeping his import on Intelligent. This could be very useful for your situation?