Energy Suppliers

[kosymodo]

But these aren't the tariff are they? Because they have a separator where they say innovative tariffs. These are the real tariff aren't they? They have these:
Which tariff are the best and wiser choice? They have 3 I think:
Agile Octopus
Octopus Tracker
Octopus Go

Apparently the Agile octopus is the most safe one? I think I will have to call them to ask about this.

Those are the tariffs on offer - then you can immediately pick to go Agile if you want to.

I'm on Agile, it's an amazing tariff! Time of Use tariffs are the way forward IMO

EDIT - I'm also on Tracker for my gas, as there is no Time of Use tariff for gas. Tracker is the closest option

Go works out if you have an electric vehicle to charge, otherwise generally Agile is the best bet

 

[IGBT]

Those are the tariffs on offer - then you can immediately pick to go Agile if you want to.

I'm on Agile, it's an amazing tariff! Time of Use tariffs are the way forward IMO

EDIT - I'm also on Tracker for my gas, as there is no Time of Use tariff for gas. Tracker is the closest option

Go works out if you have an electric vehicle to charge, otherwise generally Agile is the best bet

I see. Will read it through and give them a call. thanks for the suggestion very helpful !

 

[kosymodo]

I see. Will read it through and give them a call. thanks for the suggestion very helpful !

No worries - just give me a shout if you need any further help! I've been where you are right now, looking at the options!

Just a pointer on the referral link - you'll only receive the £50 credit if you sign up through the link, so if you call and reach a decision to go with Octopus, say you'll complete the sign up online, use the link, and you'll get the £50 credited (the credit is paid once you're on supply and your first month’s direct debit has been successfully taken)

 

[IGBT]

No worries - just give me a shout if you need any further help! I've been where you are right now, looking at the options!

Just a pointer on the referral link - you'll only receive the £50 credit if you sign up through the link, so if you call and reach a decision to go with Octopus, say you'll complete the sign up online, use the link, and you'll get the £50 credited (the credit is paid once you're on supply and your first month’s direct debit has been successfully taken)

That's a good point actually. Thanks for the reminder!

 

[kosymodo]

That's a good point actually. Thanks for the reminder!

Again, no worries - easily overlooked!

 

[b0rn2sk8]

I’d suggest doing a full market comparison, it’s unlikely Octopus will be the cheapest for your use. They’ll likely be cheaper than the big 6 but others will give you a better price unless you go with one of their time of use based tariffs but they only make sense if you have an electric car.

Just jump on money saving expert or uswitch. Make sure you click the button that says ‘show the the whole market’. Don’t switch directly though those sites, check Quidco and ask here if there is a £50 referral link to get a better price.

Do that every time your contract is up or the wholesale cost moves if you choose a variable tariff.

Going with a small company is pretty low risk, if they go bust you don’t lose any money even if you are in credit.

 

[kosymodo]

I’d suggest doing a full market comparison, it’s unlikely Octopus will be the cheapest for your use. They’ll likely be cheaper than the big 6 but others will give you a better price unless you go with one of their time of use based tariffs but they only make sense if you have an electric car.

Just jump on money saving expert or uswitch. Make sure you click the button that says ‘show the the whole market’. Don’t switch directly though those sites, check Quidco and ask here if there is a £50 referral link to get a better price.

It's not true to say that Agile is only sensible if you have an electric car - I don't have an electric car, yet am saving a lot by being on Agile and timing my electricity usage intelligently

Go generally only makes sense with an electric car, as I stated above

 

[b0rn2sk8]

It's not true to say that Agile is only sensible if you have an electric car - I don't have an electric car, yet am saving a lot by being on Agile and timing my electricity usage intelligently

Go generally only makes sense with an electric car, as I stated above

Fair enough but agile is only suitable for those who can time shift their energy use out of 4pm-8pm or can have high use overnight (e.g.charging an EV). I really wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who isn’t super savvy about their energy use. The poster didn’t come across as someone who would be interested in that kind of tariff.

 

[kosymodo]

Fair enough but agile is only suitable for those who can time shift their energy use out of 4pm-8pm or can have high use overnight (e.g.charging an EV). I really wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who isn’t super savvy about their energy use. The poster didn’t come across as someone who would be interested in that kind of tariff.

Ok, point taken! I'd be surprised though if most people couldn't schedule their heavy electric use outside of 16:00-19:00. I switched to Agile before lockdown, and therefore before having to WFH. Even being at home (i.e. not being in the position where I was only returning home at 18:30) I'm still able to save a lot on Agile by not using much electric between 16:00-19:00. There's always gonna be some folk who have no choice other than to use (high amounts of) electric during that period, but, for the majority, I think that Agile should work well. Of course, all this assumes the user has a smart meter in the first place, otherwise TOU tariffs are a no go anyway!

 

[IGBT]

Fair enough but agile is only suitable for those who can time shift their energy use out of 4pm-8pm or can have high use overnight (e.g.charging an EV). I really wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who isn’t super savvy about their energy use. The poster didn’t come across as someone who would be interested in that kind of tariff.

That's a good point. I am not an expert in this field to be honest however I welcome every suggestion. I have to compare indeed and that's what I will be doing.

I’d suggest doing a full market comparison, it’s unlikely Octopus will be the cheapest for your use. They’ll likely be cheaper than the big 6 but others will give you a better price unless you go with one of their time of use based tariffs but they only make sense if you have an electric car.

Just jump on money saving expert or uswitch. Make sure you click the button that says ‘show the the whole market’. Don’t switch directly though those sites, check Quidco and ask here if there is a £50 referral link to get a better price.

Do that every time your contract is up or the wholesale cost moves if you choose a variable tariff.

Going with a small company is pretty low risk, if they go bust you don’t lose any money even if you are in credit.

Thanks for you input. I am going to do that as well. Have used another one but will use uswitch and gocompare as well.

Again, no worries - easily overlooked!

One thing I noticed was when you go to 'our tariffs' and you scroll to Agile Octopus February 2018 there isn't an option for gas under this agile octopus tariff.

 

[kosymodo]

One thing I noticed was when you go to 'our tariffs' and you scroll to Agile Octopus February 2018 there isn't an option for gas under this agile octopus tariff.

That's because there's no such thing as Agile gas. Agile is only available as an electricity tariff. The closest you can get for gas is Tracker, which gives a dynamic unit rate per day, rather than per half-hour as with Agile

 

[kosymodo]

This is a good guide to read through re Octopus - https://www.guylipman.com/octopus/octopus_guide.html

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Ok, point taken! I'd be surprised though if most people couldn't schedule their heavy electric use outside of 16:00-19:00. I switched to Agile before lockdown, and therefore before having to WFH. Even being at home (i.e. not being in the position where I was only returning home at 18:30) I'm still able to save a lot on Agile by not using much electric between 16:00-19:00. There's always gonna be some folk who have no choice other than to use (high amounts of) electric during that period, but, for the majority, I think that Agile should work well. Of course, all this assumes the user has a smart meter in the first place, otherwise TOU tariffs are a no go anyway!

I’m really interested how you get on over winter on agile. Shorter and colder days means being indoors more often and more electric usage which you can’t really avoid unless you go out.

Im not sure the majority could shift loads of their use out of the peek times, particularly if you do the typical 9-5 during the week. Washing machines and dish washers are a big opportunities, not so much ovens if you have kids to feed.

 

[jpaul]

have Octopus/Agile started publishing their rates again then .. it was the 35pKWh that put me off ?
and in retrospect, I didn't think of it at the time, perhaps they stopped because the rates would have put people off

Looking again - Octopus don't seem to be updating their spreadsheets to see past weeks through covid ? https://octopus.energy/agile/#what-does-it-cost stopped in feb.

seem multiple comments of expense over last little while capped 35pkwh over 3hr window https://www.speakev.com/threads/octopus-agile.147169/page-43
because, of weather, low carbon options less productive

 

[IGBT]

I have done a couple of simulations and I think e-on looks to be the best option for the type of property. The rates I got were based on estimates since I will be moving to a new house and I haven't got any history. Whilst they give an estimate of 90 pounds / month the others (British Gas, SSE and quit with scottishpower since it was not intuitive) were around 105 pounds / month.

I think I will give them a call to have more information. It is a shame that octopus does not have gas.

 

[kosymodo]

have Octopus/Agile started publishing their rates again then .. it was the 35pKWh that put me off ?
and in retrospect, I didn't think of it at the time, perhaps they stopped because the rates would have put people off

Balance that against the plunge the other night - https://www.speakev.com/threads/octopus-agile.147169/page-53 - my average unit rate in Sept was 10.85p/kWh which compares nicely to mainstream tariffs

 

[kosymodo]

I have done a couple of simulations and I think e-on looks to be the best option for the type of property. The rates I got were based on estimates since I will be moving to a new house and I haven't got any history. Whilst they give an estimate of 90 pounds / month the others (British Gas, SSE and quit with scottishpower since it was not intuitive) were around 105 pounds / month.

I think I will give them a call to have more information. It is a shame that octopus does not have gas.

Octopus DO have gas, just not a Time of Use gas tariff like Agile is for electricity.

FWIW, I moved into my new build in Feb, supply was set up with e-on by the developers. I switched to Octopus, and am saving a lot compared to e-on. However, everyone's consumption is different, so it would be impossible to generalise and say that Octopus would be cheaper than e-on for everyone.

 

[jpaul]

ok this is cool - for agile information : https://agileprices.co.uk/?region=A
showing recent prices .. I'd like to see average price for each time slot averaged across month, for weekend/weekdays ... but it's not bad

I just need to that zigbee meter monitor to simulate what charges would be.

 

[kosymodo]

ok this is cool - for agile information : https://agileprices.co.uk/?region=A
showing recent prices .. I'd like to see average price for each time slot averaged across month, for weekend/weekdays ... but it's not bad

I just need to that zigbee meter monitor to simulate what charges would be.

Hmmm, never stumbled across that site before! A wealth of useful data! Thanks

 

[IGBT]

Octopus DO have gas, just not a Time of Use gas tariff like Agile is for electricity.

FWIW, I moved into my new build in Feb, supply was set up with e-on by the developers. I switched to Octopus, and am saving a lot compared to e-on. However, everyone's consumption is different, so it would be impossible to generalise and say that Octopus would be cheaper than e-on for everyone.

Yeah, definitely. The thing is that we are two working from home, baby, 4 bed house, we cook all the meals, etc.

kosymodo, is the octopus tracker the same as the agile? This is confusing. I did again a simulation and it looks like I can't see the agile offer anymore. I see Octopus Tracker, octopus fixed 12M, flexible and green. Thanks