Very pushy replacement energy meter calls

Netexporter

Eldi_Dos said:

Netexporter said:

prowla said:

I took a look at Octopus' Agile offering and they say:

Agile Octopus is one of our innovative beta smart tariffs, helping bring cheaper and greener power to all our customers, but is directly impacted by wholesale market volatility.

Agile prices can spike up to 100 p/kWh any time - although a typical household in Winter '22-'23 paid around 35 p/kWh average.

This tariff is best suited to customers who can shift large amounts of their energy use to avoid these expensive peaks, often by using smart home technologies like solar and batteries.

That 35p/kWh dosn't seem very attractive?

Also, I don't have a battery, so couldn't do that shift to charge it during cheaper times.

You just minimise your usage between 16:00 and 19:00. I don't have a battery or solar but I always pay far less than the SVT.

As someone who lived through the rolling blackouts of the 1970,s that sounds very unappealing, no matter what the saving in unit rates.

There are no blackouts involved. I carry on as normal but delay cooking the evening meal until after 19:00.

Eldi_Dos

Netexporter said:

Eldi_Dos said:

Netexporter said:

prowla said:

I took a look at Octopus' Agile offering and they say:

Agile Octopus is one of our innovative beta smart tariffs, helping bring cheaper and greener power to all our customers, but is directly impacted by wholesale market volatility.

Agile prices can spike up to 100 p/kWh any time - although a typical household in Winter '22-'23 paid around 35 p/kWh average.

This tariff is best suited to customers who can shift large amounts of their energy use to avoid these expensive peaks, often by using smart home technologies like solar and batteries.

That 35p/kWh dosn't seem very attractive?

Also, I don't have a battery, so couldn't do that shift to charge it during cheaper times.

You just minimise your usage between 16:00 and 19:00. I don't have a battery or solar but I always pay far less than the SVT.

As someone who lived through the rolling blackouts of the 1970,s that sounds very unappealing, no matter what the saving in unit rates.

There are no blackouts involved. I carry on as normal but delay cooking the evening meal until after 19:00.

I did realise that but find the prospect of arranging my life around when unit prices vary unappealing.

mmmmikey

Eldi_Dos said:

Netexporter said:

prowla said:

I took a look at Octopus' Agile offering and they say:

Agile Octopus is one of our innovative beta smart tariffs, helping bring cheaper and greener power to all our customers, but is directly impacted by wholesale market volatility.

Agile prices can spike up to 100 p/kWh any time - although a typical household in Winter '22-'23 paid around 35 p/kWh average.

This tariff is best suited to customers who can shift large amounts of their energy use to avoid these expensive peaks, often by using smart home technologies like solar and batteries.

That 35p/kWh dosn't seem very attractive?

Also, I don't have a battery, so couldn't do that shift to charge it during cheaper times.

You just minimise your usage between 16:00 and 19:00. I don't have a battery or solar but I always pay far less than the SVT.

As someone who lived through the rolling blackouts of the 1970,s that sounds very unappealing, no matter what the saving in unit rates.

Hi @Eldi_Dos

I agree - you can take money saving too far, there's a point at which it's worth spending a bit more for the additional comfort and convenience.

It's worth pointing out that you can maximise the benefits of Agile by reducing your usage during the peak period as far as possible, but many Agile customers find that they have achieved worthwhile savings without changing anything. That is, even without doing anything differently Agile has still saved them money. You can see examples on the Agile thread. Also worth pointing out that some changes are completely painless, such as changing the timer on an immersion heater, and other changes (such as doing the laundry outside peak period or not switching the dishwaher on until 19:00) can often be made quite easily. There's no need to be extreme about any load shifting.

Having said that, Agile is not the best tariff for everyone all the time. It was cheaper for me to switch to Tracker over the winter months because I'd rather retain the convenience of cooking at peak times and using the heating to stay warm than save money. Once you have a smart meter it is painfully simple to swap tariffs until you find the one that is best for you.

Once you've had a smart meter installed and it has collected some data about your usage pattern you can use one of a few very simple apps to compare the various available tariffs based on your actual usage. You can then make an informed decision about the best tarriff to use, again reiterating that you don't necessarily have to change the way you use energy to make savings - the point is just that you have the option to save even more if you do.

booneruk

Eldi_Dos said:

Netexporter said:

Eldi_Dos said:

As someone who lived through the rolling blackouts of the 1970,s that sounds very unappealing, no matter what the saving in unit rates.

There are no blackouts involved. I carry on as normal but delay cooking the evening meal until after 19:00.

I did realise that but find the prospect of arranging my life around when unit prices vary unappealing.

Do you ever buy off-peak train tickets? Saving big loads of washing for a time when you'd get a cheaper rate is hardly a struggle, false economy or a measure that leads to a lower quality of life.

Eldi_Dos

booneruk said:

Eldi_Dos said:

Netexporter said:

Eldi_Dos said:

As someone who lived through the rolling blackouts of the 1970,s that sounds very unappealing, no matter what the saving in unit rates.

There are no blackouts involved. I carry on as normal but delay cooking the evening meal until after 19:00.

I did realise that but find the prospect of arranging my life around when unit prices vary unappealing.

Do you ever buy off-peak train tickets? Saving big loads of washing up for a time when you'd get a cheaper rate is hardly a struggle, false economy or a measure that leads to a lower quality of life.

In answer to the first question, bus pass and car available so do not tend to buy train tickets although I believe off peak is available all day here.
Till the end of June and may be extended.

Washing goes on when a load is ready, preferably while I am popping out for a couple of hours.Then ready to hang when I get back.

Waiting till after a certain time to start the evening meal because of a varying tariff would not improve my quality of life or time management and social life.

MeteredOut

Eldi_Dos said:

booneruk said:

Eldi_Dos said:

Netexporter said:

Eldi_Dos said:

As someone who lived through the rolling blackouts of the 1970,s that sounds very unappealing, no matter what the saving in unit rates.

There are no blackouts involved. I carry on as normal but delay cooking the evening meal until after 19:00.

I did realise that but find the prospect of arranging my life around when unit prices vary unappealing.

Do you ever buy off-peak train tickets? Saving big loads of washing up for a time when you'd get a cheaper rate is hardly a struggle, false economy or a measure that leads to a lower quality of life.

In answer to the first question, bus pass and car available so do not tend to buy train tickets although I believe off peak is available all day here.
Till the end of June and may be extended.

Washing goes on when a load is ready, preferably while I am popping out for a couple of hours.Then ready to hang when I get back.

Waiting till after a certain time to start the evening meal because of a varying tariff would not improve my quality of life or time management and social life.

And that's what's so good about having different offerings from different suppliers. Those that cannot (or do not want to) change their behaviours to save some money can stick with the SVT, and those that can exchange a little bit of time, and perhaps put up with a little bit of inconvenience, can do so in order to save money.

But I do think blanket deploylment of TOU tariffs will arrive in the next 10-20 years.

Eldi_Dos

@MeteredOut

I believe current thinking is it is best to leave 12 to 14 hours between finishing your evening meal and having your breakfast, so a tariff that would have you starting to cook your evening meal after seven and possibly not finishing till eight thirty is possibly not the best idea unless your lifestyle can accommodate having breakfast so late.

MeteredOut

Eldi_Dos said:

@MeteredOut

I believe current thinking is it is best to leave 12 to 14 hours between finishing your evening meal and having your breakfast, so a tariff that would have you starting to cook your evening meal after seven and possibly not finishing till eight thirty is possibly not the best idea unless your lifestyle can accommodate having breakfast so late.

That is probably the weirdest reason I've ever heard for not wanting to go onto a TOU tariff, and, for that alone, I applaud you

bob2302

FWIW the premium I pay on agile for cooking dinner before 7pm is substantially less that what I save on my fridge alone.

I have nothing I can move, and  didn't think I'd save money on a TOU tariff until I looked at the meter data on the Hugo app. I would never have bothered to work it out without a smart meter.

Eldi_Dos

MeteredOut said:

Eldi_Dos said:

@MeteredOut

I believe current thinking is it is best to leave 12 to 14 hours between finishing your evening meal and having your breakfast, so a tariff that would have you starting to cook your evening meal after seven and possibly not finishing till eight thirty is possibly not the best idea unless your lifestyle can accommodate having breakfast so late.

That is probably the weirdest reason I've ever heard for not wanting to go onto a TOU tariff, and, for that alone, I applaud you

Must say I do not think it is weird to take account of current thinking coming from people that are qualified in the matter, even if advice is with a lower case a at the moment.