Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

If that's the only thing bothering you, just ring your supplier to have them installed.

If you don't want them then your excuses about offshore etc are immaterial.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

I honestly don't get why people don't want meters installed. When they install your meters, they won't confiscate your tin hats as well!

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

I agree my smart meter has been excellent and saved me a fortune. Maybe it's because i don't have a Tin Foil hat and i don't believe everything so called experts post on X previously known as Twatter and Fakebook

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Answer me this. Why have so many governments demanded of energy suppliers that they be installed or face fines if they do not?

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

because they want to be able to charge various rates across the day to everyone and then you will see heavy usage at peak users penalised across the board

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

I didn’t realise the Governments were in charge of all the Energy Companies in all those countries…

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Here we go, Tin foil hat theory's incoming, let me get my deck chair and popcorn. :LOL:

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Simples. The alien lizard creatures at Davos told them to do it, so they all complied.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

We should make a smart meter conspiracy bingo list :D

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Eventually you will simply have no choice.
Old style meters are no longer being made.
As meters expire, they will be replaced with SMART meters.

---------- Post added at 21:11 ---------- Previous post was at 21:05 ----------

I was quite hesitant when my old E7 meter was EOL.
In the end I finally decided to take the plunge with Octopus.

I was going to do it with OVO originally, who I was with at the time, but they fracked up my appointment.
So I moved to Octopus and applied to them instead. Months later I am happy with the move and their system(s).

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

I'm still no wiser as to why some people don't want a meter fitted.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Because in theory suppliers could implement widespread, forced peak pricing rather than run small scale experiments as other users here have been trying, making electricity usage a more serious poverty issue than it presently is.

Also, smart meters are capable of metering KVA/h rather than kW/h, which, if they were allowed to, would increase everyone’s bill (though not uniformly - it would very much depend on what sort of appliances you’re running and how efficient they are).

kVA is kilovolt-amps, whereas kW is kilowatts. I’m oversimplifying but kilowatts measures what you usefully consume in your home, while kilowatt amps is the way you measure what the power company has to actually supply you. There is, naturally, wastage, but at present the company is only allowed to meter and bill you for what you have made use of, and not the total amount they actually supplied to you. Industrial users are billed for kVA/h supplied rather than kW/h consumed.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Peak pricing requires you to give permission for 30 minute readings, which you can opt out of.
I'm not 100% sure of the legal position, but I dont believe they can actually force the inteval on you.

There are (were) plans to make 30 mins the default, but you could still change it to daily (or even monthly).

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

They also allow things like prepaid modes that can easily cut off your gas if you aren't paying, which is a major problem in some sectors of society.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

This. Energy companies worldwide have been clamouring for this change for over decades. And only smart meters allow them to do so easily. Many large factories with fixed equipment that chews up lots of electricity have large capacitors fitted to prevent the phase shift of the supply that causes the Energy companies to lose money. They opt to be charged at KVA/h rates, as it is to their advantage.

We are in the "carrot" phase of smart metering, with cheaper off-peak rates being offered to get people to have them installed.

But once electricity storage is rolled-out, there will be no excess to be sold off cheaply to customers, as it will be diverted to batteries, Pumped Storage Hydropower (PSH), or hydrogen-oxygen electrolysis systems.

Then, as Chris said, pricing will move to the "stick" phase, where we will be charged more at peak times or at any other time when demand is high. We already see the markets rasing the price of natural gas in the colder months, and this would shift to electricity too.

---------- Post added at 09:49 ---------- Previous post was at 09:47 ----------

Who is fining the energy companies for not rolling-out smart meter installations fast enough?

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/press-relea...n-targets-2022

---------- Post added at 10:15 ---------- Previous post was at 09:49 ----------

There are 2 other "sticks" waiting in the wings. Water use and Road Charging (aka Pay Per Mile).

If you don't have a water meter, you are charged according to the Rateable Value of your home. If you do have one, some households can save money by reducing usage, or already have low usage. But when the majority have them, the model will change to purely the amount used. And that will allow sudden price increases that will make OFWAT blink.

And it is patently obvious, and in many cases already policy, to roll out Road Charging with rates dependent on where and when you drive. Wales already has a National Transport Delivery Plan (2022 to 2027) with it included. When asked if Road Charging will happen in Wales, the then First Minister replied that there were no plans to have it on TRUNK roads. He was very careful about the words he used.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

So, back to the benefits of a smart meter … having watched how Octopus has managed my car charging for the past 3 nights, I’m now sure that what they’re doing, every day, is setting up a charging schedule based on what they believe will be most efficient for the network, but the details of the schedule absolutely does change by the time you get to late evening. Last night i expected my meter to light up at 11.30pm with something drawing 7kW but there was nowt - so i checked the app again and it had decided not to charge until 2am. This morning the app shows that’s exactly what did happen - screenshot below. The blips after midnight are the dishwasher, now happily running every night at 7p instead of our previous flexible rate of 24p.

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...1&d=1738400371

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Does the time chosen differ from the cheapest agile time :s ?

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Intelligent GO is cheap rate (7.0p per kW/h) every night from 11.30pm until 5.30am. There may also be other unspecified cheap blocks of time at any other time of day but they don’t tell you if or when they might arise. They are controlling my charger via an API to its manufacturer and I no longer have any control over when scheduled charges will occur (but I can push a button to start one manually at any time, at the prevailing rate).

So I can’t say what’s cheapest because I don’t know how cheap agile goes and I don’t know the extent to which Octopus might decide to do a sudden bonus charge at some other time of day.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

The GO tariff is an artificial price (based on octopus' calculated averages). Agile is more representative of the wholesale prices (what octopus actually pays for the electricity).

You can see the agile prices here https://www.octopriceuk.app/agile

What I imagine they would do is activate your charge at the cheapest wholesale time of the night (which should correspond to the cheapest agile time). That way they will maximise their profit.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Because I took a day off during covid times to have one fitted and the installer came took one look at it and made an excuse about not being able to turn the power off and left. I hate getting up early and I wasted a holiday day for that so feck 'em, I'm not having one, I'd rather change suppliers and let them fit it. I get letters and calls asking me to reconsider but I won't, although I also get at least one text or letter a month from them reminding me to top the meter up, that's more annoying

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Its actually not very often that Agile goes as low as 7p, I think the last time was Jan 1st.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

That's not the point

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Perhaps you’d be good enough to tell us what your point is then?

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

The go tariff also "over charges" you for the rest of the day. Octopus have done some calculations so they recon they are breaking even or even making a profit in most cases for most people. They are not giving you this tariff out of charity.

The point being that they will control for the best time at night which is when the gas production is lowest (when wind is highest) leading (in combination to other factors) to the lowest wholesale price which should be the lowest agile price.

It would not exactly be difficult to prove me wrong.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

My day rate is one penny higher than the flexible rate I was paying 24 hours a day previously (25p from 24p). My night rate is 17p cheaper and there are a couple of other power-hungry things I can shift to that period by use of a timer. I’m also father to a power-hungry student who is quasi-nocturnal so powering her lifestyle is now instantly cheaper.

I did some calculations before I signed up for this and I knew in advance I’d immediately be better off despite the day rate going up a fraction (which is likely intended to encourage users to switch usage to overnight if they can) Whether that proves you wrong or not I have no idea. It works for me, and that’s all I’m bothered about.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Compared to what ? IGO, SVT, Agile, Fixed, Tracker, Cosy, ECO7, Flux, IFlux, Snug ? or B.Gas, E.On, OutFox ...

The average price of Go is 21.8p - and atm its cheaper (for me) than the current fixed, standard, tracker & even agile.

IGO would be even better, but I dont qualify for that.
If you're on a fixed (or overall) deal thats < 21.8p then congrats, your doing well.

Agile may start to become cheaper again as we get into spring, and then summer, if it does, I'll switch back again.
I cant prove you right or wrong, as I still have no idea what your actual point is. All I care about is what is cheapest for me.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

For anyone with Octopus and OctoPlus you can currently get a free movie from Rakuten TV, you just have to grab a code asap as they're released every Friday, I've just redeemed Deadpool & Wolverine.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Brilliant! But what about the energy?

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

What about it ?

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

We might be visiting the Volvo garage tomorrow so a smart meter will probably follow in the very near future.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Just decided to renew both Trackers on the December 2024 Tariff as I am a low user and expecting prices to fall a little in warmer months. I wanted to lock in the Standing charge now as it will likely go up in a few weeks and there is no exit fee if I need to come out of it, new tariff starts 11th April. I can't load shift with the hours I work so Agile or any other tariff is not suitable and didn't want to fix because the standing charge is the same.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

I switched back to Agile over the weekend, now the weather has picked up its looking ok again, and predicted to be better as we go into March.
I'll be keeping an eye on it, now I know switching is easy, but I'm hoping it'll be largely be ok until we get towards next winter, then I may come off it again.
It does seem poorer in colder weather, when demand is higher.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

It turns out that Intelligent Octopus GO is a tad … flaky … when it attempts to control a domestic EV charger’s overnight schedule. I registered my Indra charger in my Octopus app and allowed it to begin setting schedules. I noted that having signed in to Indra via the Octopus app in order to allow this to happen, it then became impossible to set schedules directly in the Indra app (fair enough).

However over 3 weeks, Octopus would, on average, once a week, simply not charge the car at all. Thankfully my daily mileage is so low the car can easily go 3-4 days without a charge and if need be I could manually charge it in an hour, so no big deal, but even so, not working as advertised.

I have to say however that I’ve found Octopus support via Twitter to be absolutely brilliant. Responsive, happy to discuss details and deal with tons of screenshots of various apps and timings of things that worked and didn’t. It really feels like this is a mission for them, that they want to get right.

At the moment, at their request, I have de-registered my charger from the Octopus app and am using my Indra charger app directly to schedule overnight charges. Once we have a couple of weeks’ data we will be able to rule out a fault with the charger (of course they’re not perfect, their first instinct was to blame Indra, but at least they’ve still been prepared to engage and test that idea). So far, scheduling directly with the Indra charger’s own app has worked flawlessly.

And, also worth noting, while you are meant to have a compatible device registered with Octopus in order to get the super cheap Intelligent GO overnight rate (7p) as opposed to the slightly less cheap and fewer hours regular GO overnight rate (8p), they have intervened to manually keep my account on Intelligent GO for the duration of our experiment. Altogether I’m pretty impressed with the way they’re bug-fixing what is still a fairly new product.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Got another completely free electricity Power-Up session tomorrow afternoon for 2hrs....... Only problem is I am at work.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Well, we have had a month of Intelligent GO, which is roughly 25p in the day and 7p overnight; previously we were on Flexible Octopus at about 24p all day/night.

This time last year our February electricity bill was £69, and that was without having an EV to charge. This year, our electricity in February was £49. That difference seems insane to me so I compared some other months as well. January 2025 was £103, with an EV but on the flex tariff. January 2024 was £93. December 2024 was £73 (with an EV from mid-month, but hardly used because of Christmas), December 2023 was £89.

I think we’re actually saving a significant bit from having one of our nocturnal offspring grow up and move out late last year, but despite using 98kWh charging the car in February (about £7 as we do it exclusively on the 7p overnight rate) it looks like the ability to move just a few regular things to overnight use is making a big cumulative difference (refilling the kitchen hot water boiler, running the dishwasher) - that plus I guess we have quite a lot of stuff that just runs and drains power 24x7 :disturbd: :D

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

This is why I tend to save on Agile and/or Go.
My usage is suprisingly steady across the whole 24 hours.
In winter it slightly increases overnight as one room has an electric heater.

Most of the time my 30 minute slots are around 0.3 - 0.4 Kwh used.
There are slight spikes in the morning at 7-9am (about 0.55 Kwh), 12pm (0.6 Kwh) and 4.30pm, 6pm & 7pm (0.6 Kwh per slot).

I'm saving money over SVT whenever the 1/2 hour rate is less than 24.2p, which is most of the day (except 4-7pm) now Agile is back to how it generally works .

It also saves over Go for the 19 hours that runs at its higher rate (25.4p). The Go low rate (8.5p for 5 hours) is usually better than 'Agile' (but not always).
The result is that thay are often close to each other in cost, and some days Go wins, on other days Agile wins. When Agile wins it often wins well.

A small example, since I switched back to Agile from Go (on 22nd Jan).
I have saved £4.94 over SVT, and £2.75 over Go (despite the fact Go was fractionally better for half the days).

It will be interesting to see what happens to Go after April, as its current higher rate will almost certainly be less than the new SVT rate.
Its current rates have not changed since Oct 2022.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Looks like Tomato Energy is on the brink, they're currently closed to new customers. I think I've read somewhere that their CEO has had company fails before but I can't find it now.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

I looked at them a few weeks ago. Their prices seemed a little too good (and obviously were).
They did a version of Agile, but official details on how exactly it worked (formula) were impossible to find.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Trying to make energy from tomatoes was never going to work. Fools.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

All the recent sunshine is showing up in UK power generation.
For example, at midday (yesterday) more of the UKs power was being generated by solar than wind (26% v 25%).
This has actually occured a few times in the last two weeks, one day in late February, solar generation was twice as high as wind generation.

Of course, this is only for short periods on these days (maybe 1 - 2 hours max) while the sun is at its strongest.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Octoplus Rewards are giving 4 free Rakuten TV movies(1 a month) until then end of June, once the code is activated to purchase a movie you have 30 days to watch each movie. The current code expires today so I just grabbed a movie, I normally source my movies by other means but I'm happy to go legit if possible.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Octopus SVT goes up to 26.37p in the East Midlands next week.
Interestingly, the standing charge will be 48.01p, which is lower.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

I wonder what the April 2025 Tracker will be compared to the December 2024 one I've just signed up to?

The current SVT caps for East region are 50.84 Electricity and 36.31 Gas for Standing Charges.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Intelligent Octopus Go overnight rate is remaining unchanged at 7p, but my daytime rate is going up about a penny and a half. I’ve signed up for their fixed rate gas.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

I signed up for the fixed rate gas last November, and it was cheaper than SVT or Tracker over the whole of Winter.

Tracker however has dropped below it quite a few times in March. I cant switch back to it because of their stupid 9 month rule.

Electric wise I moved back to Agile from Go in Mid Feb, and since then they have mostly been similar, I'm 19p up over the last month, although the predictor shows I should gain quite a bit more over the next few days.

The general opinion on sites seems to be that Agile is good starting in Spring, through the Summer, and into early Autumn, but not in Winter. That has been my experience as well.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Tomorrow sees the first negative prices on Agile since new years day.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Good unit price on my Tracker tomorrow at 14.92.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Yeah, Ive had to revert to checking on my compare app & OctopusHome
Agile buddy is down, and agile predict is broken atm, prices are -5p at one point.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Did my longest round trip yet in my wee Dacia Spring yesterday. Just a fraction under 100 miles, for £1.63 worth of electricity on Intelligent Octopus Go overnight rate. Very pleased that the overnight rate isn’t going up next month!

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Lots of Solar Power around in the daytime atm, making for some cheap afternoons on Agile.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Something unusual going on with Octopus 12 month fixed rate tariff in my area, the April 2025 tariff is now on version V4 and limited to the first 30K customers... Electricity 22.95 Standing charge 47.61 with £50 exit fee.

Does anyone know whether I can sign up to this when I've already signed up to the December 2024 tracker which is due to start in 4 days?

Edit-

After contacting them on Twitter I decided to change to this 12 month fixed rate April 2025 V4 tariff because it seems cheaper than my April 2024 Tracker, hopefully i made the right choice, gas maybe a little more expensive but atleast it's fixed and hopefully the April 2025 Tracker won't be better.

Electricity
Unit rate:
22.95 p/kWh
Standing charge:
47.28 p/day

Gas
Unit rate:
5.65 p/kWh
Standing charge:
31.10 p/day

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

I am on November 24v3 looks like I too will be moving over. Messaged them on X

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Hope it's easy, my Tracker hadn't started so they said signing up on the app would cancel the Tracker.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

£50 exit fee ? Thats new.
I guess they finally realised how much people are hopping around.

The prices are not bad TBH, the Gas is fractionally cheaper than my current deal (5.61 v 5.68).
However, the standing charge is more (31.15 v 29.43) so I wont be tempted.

The electricity is pretty good @ 21.9, with 48.01 standing charge (East Mids).
Agile has been generally been lower than 21.9 for the last 2 weeks, much lower on some days.

Therefore not tempted by that atm either. The current annoyance with Agile is they havent lowered the standing charge.
I'll wait and see what the rest of Spring, and Summer brings. I definitly wont be on Agile next winter, thats one lesson learned.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

If you managed to change tariff, you will also need to update your payment amount, mine increased to their estimate so I bumped it back down to £90 a month instead of £96.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

They dropped mine

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

I'm pleased I got on the April 12 month Fixed V4 because that isn't available now and they have replaced it with a V2 and the Electricity has gone from 22.95 to 24.19.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

me too then. The CS on X did say it was a special deal and the £50 per fuel get out was if they did not and we left they would lose. The pre bought the fuel

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Gas prices are really low atm, if you look at Tracker its been the case for weeks now, atm they are about 4.7p.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

I'm on Tracker and looked to see if it was time to change but couldn't find a decent alternative so stayed and just hope that I made the right decision. So far I'm satisfied with Octopus and the Tracker option.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

The new Tracker is out today April 2025 V1, no idea how it compares to previous ones.

Edit
It's now listed on gas tracker.uk and the electricity is slightly cheaper than the December 2024 tracker but the Gas costs slightly more.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

I would have been better staying on the December 2024 Tracker rather than the fixed rate im on with current prices but I guess it would even out when Tracker prices increase and there is no way I could have known which Tracker would be better because the new Tracker came out on the day my April ended this rendering the December 2024 Tracker unavailable.

At the end of the day I think I got a good fixed rate on my Electricity for the next 12 months.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

The "New" tracker prices look to follow the same pattern here as well.

Dec 2024 V1: E=21.78p, G=4.85p

Apr 2025 V1: E=21.25p, G=4.96p
i.e. Electric slightly less, Gas slightly more.
The Electricity standing charge is lower now, 48.01p (v 54.85p before).

Either way, the gas price is less than my fixed price atm, and way less than standard (SVT).

We still await a new Agile version, with the lower standing charge (its still 54.85p here atm).

Octopus are also currently doing this;
https://octopus.energy/smart/intelligent-drive-pack/
No use to me, but some may be interested.

---------- Post added at 18:08 ---------- Previous post was at 18:05 ----------

It seems they are getting wise to to all the switching.

Octopus Go (April 2025 v1) now has a £25 exit fee.

(Oddly, they still list a version of 'Go' without the exit fee, which is confusing ...).

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

As Agile is moving in the right direction i moved back to it yesterday. In my opinion the summer months are the best months for Agile.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Yes, also the best for Tracker too, my fixed has a £50 exit fee but my fixed rate is good so hopefully won't need to use it.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

I moved back about 6 weeks ago, saved quite a bit since then.

I agree it seems spring and summer are best, esp with all the solar generation around now.

The question is what to do when winter approaches again.
The price cap is predicted to go down by 6 to 8 % in July, so I'm hoping there will be some reasonable fixed deals in Aug/Sep.

Otherwise I'll be looking at "Go" again for the Autummn/Winter months (with the best fixed Gas I can get).

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...chmentid=31375

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Just been looking at Outfox's deals, they seem pretty good atm.

12M Fixed, E:19.24p, G:5.599p
18M Fixed, E:19.64p, G:5.599p
24M Fixed, E:19.84p, G:5.599p

The standing charge is a little higher (@56.9p).
Even with the higher SC, those prices still look really good, I'll be keeping an eye on them
I love some of the Octopus features (like the mini) but they are becoming less competative atm.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

In my region I get.
12M Fixed, E:21.216p, G:5.599p
18M Fixed, E:21.615p, G:5.599p
24M Fixed, E:21.814p, G:5.599p

Standing Charge E:50.840 G:31.429

Cheaper than Octopus apart from the Electricity Standing Charge, my fixed rate was listed as the cheapest available a few days ago.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Are there any FREE Sites or Apps available that will let me compare a full 12 months of data based on my Octopus API with another tariff?

I know the Octopus Compare app is ideal for this but to view the data yearly they want a £2 a year subscription and I'm not paying for that.

What I want to do is compare my current Octopus 12 months Fixed V4 with Tracker December 2024 V1 which is the tariff I would have been on if I hadn't switched to the fixed. I guess I could take each reading monthly but I'd likely forget.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

That's the site I've been using the last year with my Tracker but it doesn't seem to do what I want it to do in regards to comparing with the December 2024 Tracker(it doesn't let you select which tracker) daily and yearly with my current fixed deal.

Looking for something like Octopus Compare that does daily graph comparisons between 2 tariffs but paying £2 a year for that is a joke, I would have been happy to pay a one off £2 fee though.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Yes, Agile Buddy.
https://agilebuddy.uk/tools/comparison

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

I signed up to this this morning, I maybe using it wrong but I couldn't seem to tell it I wanted to compare my Fixed with the December 2024 Tracker.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

It compares your actually cost (based on the tariff you were on at the time) with the current version(s) of tariffs, or it can compare two (current) tariffs based on your actual usage. You cannot compare any two tariffs that have ever existed, if that's what your are trying to do. Octopus Compare is they only thing I know that can do that, I dont know why you think £2 a year "is a joke" (or where you get that from, its 0.49p per month, or £5 per year). The subscription gives you more views (like year, or custom).

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Yes Octopus Compare will do what I need if I pay, I just feel you should be able to pay a one off fee to get the premium parts of the app.

I was just trying to find out whether I did the right thing moving from the old Tracker to this limited edition Fixed rate, but I guess I can check the app weekly or monthly to compare and make a note until I get bored.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

The developer feels otherwise, and he is the one doing all the work to write & support it. ;)
I'm quite happy to pay them 49p a month for their work while I'm using it.
If I feel I dont need it for a few months, I just suspend the subscription until I want the extra features again.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Octopus have already replaced their April V1 Tracker with V2 and Electricity is more expensive.

In my area and using the Octotracker app it gives me this.

December 2024 21.02p/kWh
April 2025 V1 20.39p/kWh
April 2025 V2 21.56p/kWh

I'm happy that I am on the Fixed V4 even though the December Tracker comes out 0.04 pence cheaper currently for the last week but I should have stayed on the Gas Tracker.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

I loaded the Dec v1 & Apr v1 into Octopus Compare and Apr v1 was slightly cheaper.

I cannot compare Apr v2 yet as it hasnt existed for long enough.

---------- Post added at 19:52 ---------- Previous post was at 19:16 ----------

Update: I managed to pull the information from their API.

Today, for region B (East Mids).

Dec v1 : 19.04p
Apr v1 : 18.54p
Apr v2 : 19.63p

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Just for interest … this is why I’m saving money bigly on Octopus’ intelligent GO tariff. This is last Friday when we were away on holiday and the weather in the west of Scotland was very sunny. So the consumption graph shows the true base-load for our house, and the export graph shows almost our entire solar generation (less the tiny amount the base-load consumes during the day).

The first screenshot shows kWh used (top graph) and exported from our solar panels (bottom graph). The second screenshot shows the same in estimated cost. You can see that the base load in our house is pretty much consistent, 24 hours a day. The graph bars are per 30 minutes and vary only from about 0.05 to 0.08 kWh consumption. But while the GO tariff increases the daytime kWh cost by around a penny over their flexible tariff, it reduces it by about 17p overnight. And if the sun is shining, then during the day we’re generating about as much as we’re using. We’re quids in.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

If you have solar panels, then yes, lots of sunshine is great.

Its the same with storage batteries - charge them up overnight at the cheap rate, and use them during the daytime (4pm - 7pm is best) or export if not needed.

However, there is (of course) one big issue here, which is why everyone isnt doing this.

It costs a lot of money to install solar panels, or storage batteries, or both (even with grants).
You may be saving on your actual energy bill, but it takes years of those savings to get back what you paid out.

Its the same with wanting everyone to use heat pumps.
Out of interest, I got a quote from Octopus last year for replacing my boiler with one.
For comparison, I also got a couple of quotes to replace my boiler with a similar model.
I have no intention of actually doing this as its only 3 years old, I just wanted to see the cost.

Even with grants, the heat pump was almost triple the cost of the gas boiler.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

A very useful page on current and historical tariffs, just put in your post code and select Domestic in the filter.

https://octopus.energy/tariffs/

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Except for some reason it doesnt display the historic Tracker tariffs, it was the first place I looked.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Yes, it is expensive. Fortunately building regulations mandate solar panels on new build houses now - which is why we have them. Sadly the regulations don’t force the builder to put nearly enough of them on the roof for it to be worth getting a battery. We would have to more than double the capacity of the panels for that to be a feasible option.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

It also doesn't show Agile unfortunately.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Another thing they dont tell you is not all roofs are suitable, even if they face the right way. I asked for a quote a few years ago, and was told that becasue my roof is slate tiles, it wasnt suitable for their discount project. While its not impossible to fit them on slate roofs, it is more difficult (i.e. even more expensive).

My roof is also a "three way" roof, meaning to have more than a few panels would mean splitting them across two (facing in different directions). This is again apparently more complex due to the differering amounts of electricity they would generate.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Yes, I’m not sure what retro-fitted panels would look like in my case, but all the houses here that have panels from new have them built in to the roof itself (they *are* the tiles, in effect - there are no roof tiles under them.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

What did you think of your Hive smart thermostat because I'm getting one fitted with my new system boiler in May, it's similar to my Tado but they say it'll also integrate with the boiler better and also control my hot water tank? I'm also hoping a new boiler will be far more efficient than a 28 year old one and help to reduce my monthly bills.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Its worked fine for me for almost 10 years.
Yes, it can control both heating & water (mine does).

The app is not brilliant, but it does work, I prefer the online site for setting schedules.
If you have Alexa, you can link it - allowing you to query and control it in a number of ways.

A new boiler will definitely be more efficient than something 28 years old.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Thanks plumber came yesterday so just waiting for a quote, it's a small house so hopefully not more than £3k.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business...icity-pricing/

Nice one Ed! He's not just a pretty face after all :)

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

What a moron.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Well at least now we may be able to actually use all the green energy we produce.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Doesn't it vary between regions at the moment? I assume this is more so.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Hes not pretty, just an idiot.

Yes.

---------- Post added at 16:11 ---------- Previous post was at 15:55 ----------

:confused:

The problem has always been that on some days they generate more electricity than can be used.
How will that change ? Are you all suddenly going to use more electricity ?

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Yes and no.

Price variations between region are to do with network distribution costs. The DNOs are allowed to charge different rates across the country. In theory that should only show up on the standing charge which is, notionally, the bit of your bill that you pay to maintain access to a mains electricity supply regardless of how much you use. In practice, standing charges have just become a way of penalising energy efficiency so the variation in local distribution costs tends to be accounted for partly in the unit price as well as the standing charge.

What we do not presently have is full zonal pricing. We have a single GB-wide ‘zone’ in which the cost of generating and transmitting electricity is treated as being the same across the entire grid. If you allow those costs to be calculated and charged regionally, as local network distribution costs are, then that starts to make a very significant difference to the costs consumers pay for electricity.

Scotland and the north of England would stand to benefit from such an arrangement very rapidly because there is such an enormous wind generation capacity here now, and the unit cost of that is low.

The CEO of Octopus is a passionate believer in zonal pricing and has written about it … will see if I can find something.

Edit …

https://octopus.energy/press/zonal-p...-report-finds/

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

I hear to many bad reports about Smart meters not working , so it seems like they are a waste of money

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Because once the price is allowed to drop, people will use more energy. Or people who need cheap energy will move there.

---------- Post added at 16:33 ---------- Previous post was at 16:32 ----------

While I support the CEO of octopus in this, it has to be noted that his company will benefit from this as the weaker competition may struggle to deal with zonal pricing.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Unpaywalled link to the Telegraph article below.

If it keeps costs down that's a good thing, and if it provides cheaper energy for companies like Nissan in the North who were complaining today about energy prices in the UK then it has to be a good thing too. Only today, Nissan's Alan Johnson told MPs that the Sunderland factory "pays more for its electricity than any other Nissan plant in the world".

Includes
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/othe...332b94d7&ei=12

---------- Post added at 17:56 ---------- Previous post was at 17:42 ----------

What is the weaker competition? Most retail energy suppliers are large multinationals these days like EDF, Centrica and Eon. The weaker, smaller players have gone to the wall.

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

There are a few like https://www.outfoxthemarket.co.uk

Re: Smart Meters and Tariffs
 

Ah yes, lots of promises of "savings" with no details of how that will work.

Together with more statements of "less pylons", etc.
Again, no explanation of how thats possible, the electricity still has to be transported.
The "North" (as an example) is not suddendly going to be using all that extra electricity, otherwise it already would be.

The novelty of using lots more when its cheaper soon wears off.
People will not move en masse just becasue electricity is a little cheaper.
Living in the North of the country is generally cheaper anyway, always has been, but there is no mass migration.

Allowing "competition" was supposed to save us all lots of money, that went well.