Flux from April?

[Deleted User]

Morning all, bright and sunny here so the time seems right to change over to Flux if I'm going to. Doing the sums now, if Agile prices stay low there's probably not much in it financially, but Flux is much easier to manage. Set the batteries to force charge and the water to heat overnight, and set the batteries to force discharge during the evening peak then leave everything to it and think about it again in the autumn.

Does anyone know if the prices I see at the moment on the website are pre- or post- increase? And are these fixed for a year contractually or are the annual increases discussed above more of a convention than a rule?

Anyone else about to make the summer switch to Flux or planning to do so?

Edit: I've just looked more closely and seen the new rates are here, so ignore the first question :-)

https://octopus.energy/octopus-smart-tariffs/flux-rates-april-2024/

Officer_Dibble

Just worked out that on the new figures I'll be £140 worse off with Flux for the next 6 months than I was on Flux last summer, assuming I import and export the same amount. The downside of falling prices. Staying on Agile though (with fixed 15p/kWh export) I'd need the average import unit cost to be 6p to match Flux. I'll be switching ASAP.

[Deleted User]

Officer_Dibble said:

Just worked out that on the new figures I'll be £140 worse off with Flux for the next 6 months than I was on Flux last summer, assuming I import and export the same amount. The downside of falling prices. Staying on Agile though (with fixed 15p/kWh export) I'd need the average import unit cost to be 6p to match Flux. I'll be switching ASAP.

So I took the plunge and changed to Flux using the website. Import changed immediately but I had an email saying that export will take longer while they do some checks. That surprised me as I already get export payments from Octopus. Have you made the switch yet and did you get the same message? Just wondering if I entered something wrong when I initiated the switch.

Alnat1

I think I remember it taking 48 hours last year to get the export changed to Flux and several others commented about it. 

[Deleted User]

Alnat1 said:

I think I remember it taking 48 hours last year to get the export changed to Flux and several others commented about it. 

Thanks - sounds like I just need to be patient :-)

Officer_Dibble

Yes, my export's not switched yet either. I'll nag them on Twitter if it takes much longer. Two aspects of this are unacceptable. Firstly they're very clear that Flux Import and Export have to be taken together and you can't have one without the other - except when the delayed switch benefits them of course. Secondly they say in the email after you've switched "As a reminder, it may take up to six weeks before we can switch you to Octopus Flux Export." when it's not a reminder at all. There's a warning when you fill in the form that the whole thing might take a while (as bizarrely it's the same form for existing customers as new ones) but at no stage does it warn that the switch can be staggered.

[Deleted User]

Yes, not quite right and reinforces the impression I have that they are losing their customer services edge. I suspect it's just a process that needs some work and poor communication rather than anything underhanded and it will probably be quickly sorted and only cost me a couple of quid so I'm not going to lose any sleep. But not really consistent with the Octopus we've all been raving about.

[Deleted User]

I've just given Octopus a gentle nudge by email - I'll let you know what they say.....

Officer_Dibble

Mine seems to have switched now, so only 5 days in limbo. Not too bad.

[Deleted User]

Still waiting for my switch, think I was about a day behind you so hopefully tomorrow. As soon as I switch I should be making enough from exports to pay for imports and standing charges and be a few hundred pounds in credit reading for next heating season. Winter is coming....