Energy Prices (Strictly NO referrals!)

[dlockers]

I was on flex for gas anyway so I decided to fix at the same rate for the 1 year, I'm taking the variability risk on agile for electric instead. Since my gas use is steady all year and spikes 3/4 times in Dec/Jan/Feb then a surge on tracker during those months would wipe out a lot of my gains the rest of the year.

Yeah I am locking in the fix I think. I've managed amongst EON customer complaints and gas tracker in early months to put a £800 dent in what I owed. Now in a bit of credit for the first time in years.

Flow temp of 50 seems to have been a good move as well.

 

[chrcoluk]

It's a gamble though right?

Fixed is also a gamble, you gambling its cheaper than SVR (and tracker) and of course most fixed have an exit fee. So its not risk free, but I suppose you can argue the risk is a lower one as tracker potentially could go sky high in costs in a nightmare scenario.

Depends on how risk averse you are.

 

[chrcoluk]

For tracker folk, I just had my quote for fixing gas. NB: this has taken like 4 weeks to get to. I've generally had quick responses from the team but this has been a very poor experience.

What do folk think - if I sign up, it means I effectively opt out of tracker for 9 months IIRC.

Its not terrible, but that exit fee is urrrgh.

For a light user like myself these exit fees are quite high proportionally.

To give you an idea the exit fee is equal to about 4-5 months of my gas expenditure (including SC). Its almost 0.5 my annual gas spend. Would that tariff save me £75 over winter, probably not. But for a heavy user, it might be a reasonable choice.

For reference the gas fix offered to my by octopus on my dashboard is 8p unit and 32p SC. So wonder if you got some kind of customer specific offer there. Or just very big regional differences.

 

[200sols]

Its not terrible, but that exit fee is urrrgh.

For a light user like myself these exit fees are quite high proportionally.

To give you an idea the exit fee is equal to about 4-5 months of my gas expenditure (including SC). Its almost 0.5 my annual gas spend. Would that tariff save me £75 over winter, probably not. But for a heavy user, it might be a reasonable choice.

For reference the gas fix offered to my by octopus on my dashboard is 8p unit and 32p SC. So wonder if you got some kind of customer specific offer there. Or just very big regional differences.

The octopus fix is at current SVR, mine is 6.99p. I'd suggest your 8p is an old rate. Given the price cap is going to rise in January and then when it potentially falls again by a few % next year we won't be using much gas the exit fee is irrelevant really.

 

[Neil79]

I fixed in July/August for 12 months

DAY RATE NIGHT RATE
36.17 p/kWh 15.31 p/kWh
STANDING CHARGE
45.66p/day

Compared to now

Day unit rate: 37.79 p/kWh
Night unit rate: 16.00 p/kWh
Standing charge:
45.66 p/day

 

[chrcoluk]

The octopus fix is at current SVR, mine is 6.99p. I'd suggest your 8p is an old rate. Given the price cap is going to rise in January and then when it potentially falls again by a few % next year we won't be using much gas the exit fee is irrelevant really.

Well for me I wouldnt call 5 months worth of bills as irrelevant.

I cant be bothered to investigate why my offer is 8p, I just reported what my offer is.

When Octopus were offering fixes in late 2021 and during 2022, they also differed quite a lot from customer to customer, were all over the place, in duration of the deal and the unit rates.

 

[Abraxaz1]

Hydrogen in the home is a nonsense.

Imagine if absolutely everyone isn't using a boiler that can cope?

Better to subsidise people even more for heat pumps

As someone with connections to the gas industry, hydrogen in the home has been shelved

Too many risk factors.

Hydrogen will be a form of energy storage. Burnt in gas turbine power station

 

[jpaul]

shelved partly because of the feedback on the scunthorpe, wasn't it, trials with scared customers,
but this weeks govt report said it would only cost 20% more than heat-pumps & the electric solution

seems british gas did something innovative

British Gas partners with Team GB and ParalympicsGB to bring better performance on Sundays - News

British Gas, the nation’s most trusted energy supplier, has partnered with Team GB and ParalympicsGB, among the nation’s most loved institutions*, in a n...

www.adforum.com

Half price electricity on Sundays is part of British Gas’ new PeakSave scheme, which rewards households for using energy outside of peak hours. Not only is the scheme aimed at helping customers do their bit for the environment, but it's also a commitment from the nation’s leading energy supplier to help customers keep bills down as winter approaches.

adverts pretty good

https://storage.googleapis.com/adforum-media/34685554/ad_34685554_6b9629aa1366e8d4_web.mp4

 

[silversurfer]

Nice if they can just provide that as something normal.

This is one of the lowest prices Ive seen, overall is the market making storage cheaper 333wh or 90,000 mah for £79

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C1SQDXFM/ref=sspa_dk_detail_6?pd_rd_i=B0C1SQDXFM&pd_rd_w=RMzhV&content-id=amzn1.sym.67430c1d-696a-45e1-be6b-972213775cc6&pf_rd_p=67430c1d-696a-45e1-be6b-972213775cc6&pf_rd_r=25B016N8ZFW1W7VQGVBT&pd_rd_wg=8EGDW&pd_rd_r=9f031b33-5bfd-48ad-a615-9d3bca6158db&s=diy&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWwy&th=1

Different brand but a few years ago maybe was double this price 300wh £149 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0C4P7R9Q3?smid=A3ONV1E6MX4WD0&th=1

 

[dymetrie]

Had a nice email from Octopus suggesting that I might like to switch to a fixed tariff (which their estimates said would cost me £10 more per month), which I declined from doing.

However, when on the site I spotted (and signed up to) this: https://octopus.energy/octoplus/

Basically the savings sessions from last winter, with added free electricity periods, so worth getting involved in.

Can anyone spot any actual downsides to it!?

 

[--Mike--]

Had a nice email from Octopus suggesting that I might like to switch to a fixed tariff (which their estimates said would cost me £10 more per month), which I declined from doing.

However, when on the site I spotted (and signed up to) this: https://octopus.energy/octoplus/

Basically the savings sessions from last winter, with added free electricity periods, so worth getting involved in.

Can anyone spot any actual downsides to it!?

I came across that yesterday and was going to ask the same question.
In the Terms and Conditions it states:

10: To be eligible for Incentive payments, you must opt-in to the Saving Session before it begins, and reduce electricity import as measured by your smart meter compared to a “Baseline” during any of the half-hours of the Saving Session window.
12: We will calculate your Baseline using the BSC P376 ‘Utilising a Baseline Methodology to set Physical Notifications’ without an in-day adjustment. The Baseline is the average consumption for the same period(s) of up to 60 days of your recent smart meter history, excluding days where a Saving Session has taken place.

It doesn't say what happens if you don't reduce your consumption during this period. I suppose if you don't, then they won't pay you the incentive.

 

[dymetrie]

I came across that yesterday and was going to ask the same question.
In the Terms and Conditions it states:

10: To be eligible for Incentive payments, you must opt-in to the Saving Session before it begins, and reduce electricity import as measured by your smart meter compared to a “Baseline” during any of the half-hours of the Saving Session window.
12: We will calculate your Baseline using the BSC P376 ‘Utilising a Baseline Methodology to set Physical Notifications’ without an in-day adjustment. The Baseline is the average consumption for the same period(s) of up to 60 days of your recent smart meter history, excluding days where a Saving Session has taken place.

It doesn't say what happens if you don't reduce your consumption during this period. I suppose if you don't, then they won't pay you the incentive.

For the saving sessions then yes it'd be you won't earn OctoPoints but you won't be penalised if you don't reduce usage.

Point 12 is different to last year though as there was an in-day adjustment used to stop people from offloading power usage to before a saver session, so this actually looks like it would be easier to do better in!

 

[bigmike20vt]

Note i dont mind because i am fortunate....... however from a grid saving POV there is no incentive there for home battery users.

That is fine but from a grid POV it would make sense imo to have something there to encourage battery users. my daily use is almost zero so i didnt earn many points last time. (i earned a few as i made sure even if terrible weather i was on battery during the period which sometimes meant turning it off earlier in the day to make sure it lasted.

but i am not going to work my battery for nothing........ where as IF home battery users actively emptied their battery in that period surely it would help the grid?

 

[jpaul]

so this actually looks like it would be easier to do better in!

why is it easier to do better ? did they increase the credit for reductions - to reward legitimate(non in-day) saving

...

British gas deal half price just sunday afternoon - ergh can't think of any useful way to use that
(cambs unit prices)

PeakSave Sundays​

We’re proud partners of Team GB and ParalympicsGB, but you don’t have to wait until the Paris 2024 Games to enjoy a big event. We’re running one every Sunday for the rest of the year, with half-price electricity from 11am to 4pm for our world-class PeakSavers.

You'll need to sign up to PeakSave. We’ll then get in touch to let you know when you’re up and running or the next steps to get involved.

• There will be a half-price electricity event every Sunday until 31st December.

year fix
Unit rate7.361p per kWh (inc. VAT)
Standing charge27.736p per day (inc. VAT)
Exit feeExit Fee £75 per fuel. You won’t pay an exit fee if you switch to another British Gas fixed tariff.
Unit rate30.388p per kWh (inc. VAT)
Standing charge42.287p per day (inc. VAT)
var
Unit rate6.784p per kWh (inc. VAT)
Standing charge29.624p per day (inc. VAT)
Unit rate27.931p per kWh (inc. VAT)
Standing charge44.019p per day (inc. VAT)

 

[HungryHippos]

Note i dont mind because i am fortunate....... however from a grid saving POV there is no incentive there for home battery users.

That is fine but from a grid POV it would make sense imo to have something there to encourage battery users. my daily use is almost zero so i didnt earn many points last time. (i earned a few as i made sure even if terrible weather i was on battery during the period which sometimes meant turning it off earlier in the day to make sure it lasted.

but i am not going to work my battery for nothing........ where as IF home battery users actively emptied their battery in that period surely it would help the grid?

Isn't the potential win for us the bit about exporting?

https://octopus.energy/blog/saving-sessions-faqs/

Can I take part if I have an export tariff?​

Yes, customers who generate and export electricity (via solar panels, for example) can take part in Saving Sessions, and we’ll credit you for any extra exporting you do compared to usual.

If we import at £0.30/kWh on Go, and then get paid say £1.50 - £2 per kWh exported, it's a win/win! Not sure how much they'd pay, but if it's good enough it's 100% going to be worth doing.

 

[bigmike20vt]

oooh ok i stand corrected... that is new then as it was not the case last time.........

so i can just run the house off the grid then and wait for the demand period and empty my battery!. I missed that, thanks.,

 

[--Mike--]

For the saving sessions then yes it'd be you won't earn OctoPoints but you won't be penalised if you don't reduce usage.

Point 12 is different to last year though as there was an in-day adjustment used to stop people from offloading power usage to before a saver session, so this actually looks like it would be easier to do better in!

Great, thanks for confirming. So it's definitely worth doing then? Have you signed up?

 

[HungryHippos]

oooh ok i stand corrected... that is new then as it was not the case last time.........

so i can just run the house off the grid then and wait for the demand period and empty my battery!. I missed that, thanks.,

Awaiting details but yes that is the hope on my part!

 

[Mercenary Keyboard Warrior]

Yeah I really hope they make the sensible move of additional payment for those of us who could export extra to the grid.

Thing is like ever what they say can be taken either way.
Extra export pays extra, no ****.
Thing is that could be extra export pays at the same rate as reduced demand, or extra export is paid at your normal rate.

Why companies cannot just be clear really grinds my gears.

 

[dymetrie]

Great, thanks for confirming. So it's definitely worth doing then? Have you signed up?

Yup, seems to just be positives so worth doing in my opinion!

why is it easier to do better ? did they increase the credit for reductions - to reward legitimate(non in-day) saving

Saver sessions last winter would compare your usage reduction for the session period against the same time from previous days but would also take into account if your usage prior to the session was higher than normal. So if you cooked dinner using an electric oven, and did a tumble load just before the session your score wouldn't be as high as if you had typical usage in that period.

This new one looks like it's not doing that so it's a direct comparison with just the same time period and ignores and load shifting you might do.

I could be wrong, but that's my take on it