Solar with battery currently on Octopus Flexible should we switch to Ovo or Octopus flux?

Green_hopeful

We are looking to switch my mum. She has solar panels with a battery. She used 1000kwh electricity and 6000kwh gas in 2024. She has smart meters. She tends to go away for most of the summer so very little usage from April to October. She gets FIT payments from Microtricity.

She is currently on Octopus flexible after her fix ended. 

Ovo is the cheapest switch if she just goes with a mainstream tariff. 

But Octopus seem to offer different tariffs for people who have solar and batteries. We have no idea what it all means. 

Please can someone explain how it works? 

Qyburn

The tariff choices on offer differ in how much you get paid for export.  This is additional to the FIT generation payment which is paid on the total generation, whether it's used or exported. FIT generation won't be affected by tariff changes.

For export the chances are that she is currently paid on what they call "Deemed Export" where they are notified of total generation, and assume ("deem") a certain percentage, typically 50%, was exported. That was the norm back in the FIT days as people generally didn't have an export meter.

To benefit from anything else she will need a smart meter registered for export.

Green_hopeful

Just looking at the Octopus Flux prices. Helpfully the quote is inclusive of VAT and the current rates are exclusive of VAT. The upset me the other day when switching my son. I couldn’t work out the figures and then noticed the VAT difference.  I have asked for the current export rates from my mum. 

Qyburn

By the way is FIT provider aware of the battery? They can get a bit sniffy if the installation is such that battery discharge goes through the generation meter.

Green_hopeful

Qyburn said:

The tariff choices on offer differ in how much you get paid for export.  This is additional to the FIT generation payment which is paid on the total generation, whether it's used or exported. FIT generation won't be affected by tariff changes.

For export the chances are that she is currently paid on what they call "Deemed Export" where they are notified of total generation, and assume ("deem") a certain percentage, typically 50%, was exported. That was the norm back in the FIT days as people generally didn't have an export meter.

To benefit from anything else she will need a smart meter registered for export.

Thank you she does have a deemed export. I think the system was installed by the previous owners in about 2014. 

Will probably just switch to a cheaper regular tariff. 

Green_hopeful

Qyburn said:

By the way is FIT provider aware of the battery? They can get a bit sniffy if the installation is such that battery discharge goes through the generation meter.

I don’t know. We are really dim about it. When mum bought we just moved her in and haven’t done anything except provide meter readings. They do inspect every couple of years. They can see the battery because it is in the same cupboard. We have an inspection in April which I will go to so if they have any issues I will find out. 

Do you know if they should be serviced in some way?

Qyburn

Green_hopeful said:

Thank you she does have a deemed export. I think the system was installed by the previous owners in about 2014. 

Will probably just switch to a cheaper regular tariff. 

It's worth checking. Her deemed export rate might be only  few pence, say 5p/kWh. Current metered export can be 15p/kWh or more. But she'll need a smart meter, and when signing up the supplier will need some paperwork, MCS certificate from the installer, and something from the local electricity operator (DNO) approving the connection. That last one will be called G.98 or G.99 which are the current standards depending on size, or it might be the older G.83 or G.59.