Octopus Go Intelligent Tariff - recent changes

MWT

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81883269#Comment_81883269

They certainly mentioned adding an option in the app to limit smart charging to a maximum of 6 hours.

Qyburn

from their FAQ about the changes ..

"Shortly, we’ll introduce an option to either limit your smart charging to 6 off-peak hours or to prioritise reaching the charger target of your vehicle."

https://octopus.energy/blog/intelligent-octopus-go-charge-limit/

MattMattMattUK

I just got the below in an email from Octopus.

Dear X,

We’re obsessed with building a smarter, fairer energy system that rewards you for driving the clean energy revolution.

In my last email, I mentioned we’re introducing a 6-hour smart charging limit to Intelligent Octopus Go to keep the system fair for everyone. I’ve heard your feedback, and we’re making two big changes to ensure it works for you, not just the grid:

We’ve delayed the changes: We want to make sure the transition is smooth, so we’re taking our time to test and iterate the cap internally before launching. We expect it will be ready in March — we’ll let you know before it goes live.
We’re introducing “Charge Cap”: A new feature that gives you control. You’ll be able to toggle between capping your charging to the 6 cheapest hours — so if you plug in regularly, you won’t see any change to your costs from the 6 hour limit — or hitting your charge target, even if it requires a little extra charging outside those 6 cheapest hours. Charge Cap will launch alongside the cap in March.
Our goal remains the same: rewarding you for balancing the grid with the help of your car, giving you the cheapest driving we can. By choosing how you charge, you’re helping manage the “lumps” in energy demand, which keeps costs down for everyone in the long run.

Thanks for sticking with us, for plugging in often, and for helping us prove that a green grid is a cheaper grid.

Love & power,
Pete Miller
Co-founder & Head of Customer Experience

QrizB

Octopus have emailed today with an update on this too.

In brief, they're still running tests but expect to implement the 6-hr rule and the option to cap charging at 6 hours in March.

born_again

so if you plug in regularly, you won’t see any change to your costs from the 6 hour limit — or hitting your charge target, even if it requires a little extra charging outside those 6 cheapest hours. Charge Cap will launch alongside the cap in March.

All good for me given I only charge small % apart from the odd one when Daughter fails to tell me her car need charging for work the day before she needs a full charge (see recent post over 6 hours )🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤣

20vt-rs

I’m sure I read somewhere that alongside the 6hr limit coming in next month, Octopus can work out how much charge your EV has been given, and will compare this to your smart meter use and anything additional will be charged at the usual full rate.

This means that doing washing, tumble drying etc whilst the car charges is pointless.

born_again

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81890179#Comment_81890179

They can, which is why they list your car charges in one of the options on the home page.

• Smart ChargeSession duration:2hr 13min / Energy added:14.83kWh My last charge.

Not that any mention of other home charges are in any of the details they have sent out to customers.

But as per other posts it is not just "6" hours charging.

So many on u-tube & other social media are getting this wrong & scaring people who do not read the mails that they send out 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️😶‍🌫️

MWT

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81890179#Comment_81890179

You have read idle speculation and misunderstandings, not facts from Octopus.

The only time they need to separate the home use from the EV use under the changes they have announced is if you go over 6 hours of charging and the additional charging takes place during the overnight low-rate period.

In that circumstance then the EV use will be charged at the peak-rate, the home use would still be at the low-rate.

Similarly if there is charging over 6 hours that occurs during the peak rate period then everything remains at the peak rate.

gomad

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81875122#Comment_81875122

I think a lot of people blaming granny chargers are a little biased. For a start those with PHEV’s can for the most part (short local trips) charge up over night inside the 6 hours - what’s wrong with that? I’d argue people on 7/11kw chargers were abusing it more by having 6 hours over night AND additional cheap slots during the day. Bew new rules ought to maybe be linked to hours of use and consumption. I don’t think granny chargers are to blame (and I don’t understand this setting a 7kw charger to granny rates being in anyway beneficial - how does this abuse the system. Granny charge users if anything are penalised by those using 7kw nighttime charging also using cheap mid day slots). However this whole thread completely ignores the use of PHEV’s which have circa 20kw battery (or less!).

MWT

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81891307#Comment_81891307

I don’t think granny chargers are to blame (and I don’t understand this setting a 7kw charger to granny rates being in anyway beneficial - how does this abuse the system.

PHEVs are not the problem, their packs are too small.

The concern comes when you have people with much larger packs either using a granny charger or rate-limiting the EV/EVSE so it forces the charge to be much slower and therefore take much longer to complete which in turn forces IOG to allocate many more daytime slots thus giving the customer almost their entire day at the low-rate.

This is why Octopus are enforcing the 6 hour limit…