Alternative to Octopus for solar and battery?

Crystabelle

Hello, I had solar panels and a battery installed in autumn 2023 and signed up to Octopus, hoping to use the Flux tariff. They installed a smart meter in September but it is STILL not working, which means I can't sign up to Flux. Without being able to top up the battery with cheap electricity overnight, my financial calculations go out of the window and I'm not getting my money's worth. I have complained and even written to the CEO, but still no response.

Does anyone know of another supplier that offers something similar? Thank you.

MeteredOut

Have you been told why the smart meter is not working? The same issue could arise even if you move to another supplier.

Have you raised a formal complaint with them? If not, do that, and if they are not responsive, you can take them to the Energy Ombudsman after 8 weeks. This won't guarantee to get your smart meter fixed, but it should at least ensure Octopus look into the issue.

Reed_Richards

I'm sure your meter is still working or Octopus would be responding much more promptly.  What's not working is the comms hub that sits on top of the smart meter, I presume.  It's a pity you put the cart before the horse and did not ensure you had a working smart meter with working comms hub before you did anything else.  In some locales comms hubs simply don't work; have you asked around your neighbours to see if they have them working?

mmmmikey

Unfortunately the market for smart tariffs is still fairly new and there isn't much competition. Octopus has stolen the lead on smart tariffs and has very little serious competition.

Octopus are also considered to be one of the better suppliers when it comes to resolving smart meter issues so you're unlikely to do better on that front by changing.

So your best bet is likely to be persevering with Octopus and getting the smart meter issue fixed with them. Well worth checking with your neighbours and see if they have working smart meters - if they don't you may be in a dead spot and have comms issues, and if that is your case it might be worth exploring other options for maximising your return.

A possibility might be to ask Octopus if they will accept you onto their fixed outgoing tariff for export which pays 15p/kWh for export. They would normally insist on a smart meter for that too, but because it doesn't need 30 minute data they may be prepared to accept monthly meter readings, especially if they haven't been able to fix the smart meter issue. There's no guarantee that they will but it may be an avenue worth exploring?

Hope you manage to get something sorted.

Crystabelle

Thank you, mmmmikey. I was afraid that 'no competition' might be the answer as I hadn't managed to find anything (hence the question on this forum). It seems as if Octopus is the victim of its own success and can't keep up with demand.

MWT

Crystabelle said:

They installed a smart meter in September but it is STILL not working, which means I can't sign up to Flux.

Could you give a little more detail regarding 'not working' ...?

Are you able to see information on the IHD? (the small screen they will have given you when the smart meter was installed?

If that is working is it just that you cannot see your data on your Octopus account?

Crystabelle

I've been told by the Octopus help desk that their engineer failed to commission the smart meter when he installed it. So an engineer needs to come back.

Reed_Richards

There are two parts to a smart meter, the part that measures your electricity usage (and export) and the comms hub that sits on top that and communicates the readings to your supplier.  Try to be clear about this because it makes understanding your situation much easier.

In my case the engineer who installed my smart meter did not think the comms hub was going to work so he did not even give me an IHD; that's the portable device that gives you reading from your meter.  In my case the engineer was wrong and everything turned out to work fine.  In your case I'm guessing it was your comms hub that did not work.  So I'm guessing you have been reading the meter yourself and supplying those readings to Octopus.

If it really is the comms hub that does not work then either:

1. You are in a black spot and it won't work for you nor your near neighbours.
2. You are in a black spot but your comms hub might work if a better aerial was fitted.
3. Your comms hub is faulty and needs to be replaced with one that works.

If it's 2 or 3 then something can be done.  If it's 1 then nothing can be done by Octopus that will enable you to use the Flux tariff.    

    

MeteredOut

Crystabelle said:

I've been told by the Octopus help desk that their engineer failed to commission the smart meter when he installed it. So an engineer needs to come back.

Just be aware that help desk staff (and not just at Octopus) get things wrong and/or say things that will get you off the phone quicker. As @Reed_Richards says above, it could be real reasons the engineer could not commission the smart meter fully, other than them just failing to do so.

Crystabelle

Thanks very much to all. I will ask the neighbours about their smart meters before pursuing Octopus further.