Energy Tariffs

Oldgreybeard
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Re: Energy Tariffs

#181

Post by Oldgreybeard »

Marcus wrote: Fri Oct 07, 2022 5:12 pm Hmm. Yes, I've been watch this thread - i tried moving tariffs in the summer to another supplier who did have a better tariff than octopus - they agrees on the phone to start the switch - never heard anything from them.

octopus put in a smart meter for me about 2 months ago and when i enquired about going on a smart TOU tariff like e7 (intelligent octopus) they said i was better off staying with the current fixed 'dumb' tariff (48p st ch and about 47p/unit iirc).

Tried emailing them again following the October price cap and there's been no reply , despite their claim to reply within hours.

You would think now i have a smart meter they would want to put me on a TOU tariff, but I'm getting the feeling the current energy market is being used as an excuse to block users from moving to a tariff that works better for them. And ofgem seem to be doing as little as possible to help the consumer.
Your final paragraph is the reason I took the time to raise this with OFGEM, as I am convinced that suppliers are using any excuse they can to block people from changing tariffs. Clearly OFGEM isn't fit for purpose in terms of enabling customers to have easy access to all tariffs that are available and they don't seem bothered by the fact that suppliers are trying hard to make life challenging for consumers.

Having to spend hours on the phone just to find out how much electricity costs from a supplier is ridiculous in this day and age. FWIW, the best E7 tariff I've been able to find so far is from Eon. Their standard variable E7 tariff for Southern Region is 32.072 p/kWh peak rate, 16.435 p/kWh off-peak rate and a standing charge of 41.41 p/day.

I heard a rumour that Octopus were offering a slightly cheaper tariff, 44.00 p/kWh peak rate, 15.00 p/kWh off-peak rate and a standing charge of 37.00 p/day. I've tried calling Octopus to find out if this is available, to no avail.
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nowty
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Re: Energy Tariffs

#182

Post by nowty »

Oldgreybeard wrote: Fri Oct 07, 2022 5:34 pm I heard a rumour that Octopus were offering a slightly cheaper tariff, 44.00 p/kWh peak rate, 15.00 p/kWh off-peak rate and a standing charge of 37.00 p/day. I've tried calling Octopus to find out if this is available, to no avail.
As I'm in the same region as you, this should be the Octopus E7 price for you.
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Oldgreybeard
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Re: Energy Tariffs

#183

Post by Oldgreybeard »

nowty wrote: Fri Oct 07, 2022 5:50 pm
Oldgreybeard wrote: Fri Oct 07, 2022 5:34 pm I heard a rumour that Octopus were offering a slightly cheaper tariff, 44.00 p/kWh peak rate, 15.00 p/kWh off-peak rate and a standing charge of 37.00 p/day. I've tried calling Octopus to find out if this is available, to no avail.
As I'm in the same region as you, this should be the Octopus E7 price for you.
Image
Thanks, but I'm pretty sure that is the smart meter only E7 tariff, rather than the non-smart E7 tariff. When I did get to speak with someone at Octopus they couldn't find any details for a non-smart meter tariff (I've nothing against smart meters, but it seems we just cannot get one to work here, because there's no phone signal).

Perhaps we should try and collate any tariffs we find here. Might help try and find a path through the maze of supplier obfuscation.
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nowty
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Re: Energy Tariffs

#184

Post by nowty »

Oldgreybeard wrote: Fri Oct 07, 2022 5:59 pm Thanks, but I'm pretty sure that is the smart meter only E7 tariff, rather than the non-smart E7 tariff. When I did get to speak with someone at Octopus they couldn't find any details for a non-smart meter tariff (I've nothing against smart meters, but it seems we just cannot get one to work here, because there's no phone signal).
You've got an E7 meter, its an E7 tariff.

They cannot refuse to take you, you've even had that confirmed from OFGEM.

I moved over to Octopus with an E7 meter from Scottish Power before I had them fit the Smart Meter.
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Oldgreybeard
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Re: Energy Tariffs

#185

Post by Oldgreybeard »

nowty wrote: Fri Oct 07, 2022 6:10 pm
Oldgreybeard wrote: Fri Oct 07, 2022 5:59 pm Thanks, but I'm pretty sure that is the smart meter only E7 tariff, rather than the non-smart E7 tariff. When I did get to speak with someone at Octopus they couldn't find any details for a non-smart meter tariff (I've nothing against smart meters, but it seems we just cannot get one to work here, because there's no phone signal).
You've got an E7 meter, its an E7 tariff.

They cannot refuse to take you, you've even had that confirmed from OFGEM.

I moved over to Octopus with an E7 meter from Scottish Power before I had them fit the Smart Meter.

That was the gist of the phone conversation I had with Octopus, but the person I spoke with was sure that I needed a smart E7 meter, not a standard E7 meter, in order to be eligible for that tariff. To be fair to them, they were struggling to find the details about that tariff, and I asked them to just email me the terms and conditions when they'd found them (and haven't yet heard anything).

Last thing I want to do is go through the whole smart meter debacle again, as it was bad enough with SSE, although to be fair they did come back and try changing things to try and get the meter to work, all to no avail. If I just switch and then Octopus insist I need a smart meter before they will put me on that tariff then it could be very costly, as if they are like SSE they put you on an expensive "holding tariff" until they get the meter to connect.
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SafetyThird
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Re: Energy Tariffs

#186

Post by SafetyThird »

I moved to Octopus this week on an Economy 7 tarrif, I have a non-smart E7 meter. they moved me from Good Energy in 3 days, my rates are below
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Oldgreybeard
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Re: Energy Tariffs

#187

Post by Oldgreybeard »

SafetyThird wrote: Fri Oct 07, 2022 8:53 pm I moved to Octopus this week on an Economy 7 tarrif, I have a non-smart E7 meter. they moved me from Good Energy in 3 days, my rates are below
Brilliant!

Why on earth couldn't the person I spoke with on the phone a week or so ago have told me this, I wonder?

I've been looking for a way to switch to Octopus for ages, primarily because I rather fancy investing in Ripple, and that only seems to be an option if your supplier is Octopus. I have found that trying to get accurate information out of suppliers is very much a lottery. Sometimes you get lucky and talk with someone that knows what they are talking about, mostly you either don't get through on the phone or encounter someone that doesn't have a clue as to what tariffs are available.
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nowty
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Re: Energy Tariffs

#188

Post by nowty »

If you want to see Octopus current tariffs online without phoning up,

Go to > https://octopus.energy/tariffs/

DO NOT PRESS THE "Get A Quote" pink button.

Then enter your postcode,

Press the drop down list for Filters and select "domestic"

They will all be there.

Then you can phone and say, "I want this................"
16.9kW PV > 109MWh generated
Ripple 6.6kW Wind + 4.5kW PV > 25MWh generated
5 Other RE Coop's
105kWh EV storage
60kWh Home battery storage
40kWh Thermal storage
GSHP + A2A HP's
Rain water use > 510 m3
Oldgreybeard
Posts: 1873
Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2021 3:42 pm
Location: North East Dorset

Re: Energy Tariffs

#189

Post by Oldgreybeard »

nowty wrote: Fri Oct 07, 2022 10:24 pm If you want to see Octopus current tariffs online without phoning up,

Go to > https://octopus.energy/tariffs/

DO NOT PRESS THE "Get A Quote" pink button.

Then enter your postcode,

Press the drop down list for Filters and select "domestic"

They will all be there.

Then you can phone and say, "I want this................"
Thanks, I did do this, but the terms and conditions aren't available easily (or at least I've not been able to find them). That's what stymied the person I spoke with at Octopus, not being able to determine what terms and conditions applied. Having bee ncaught out once by the "you must have a connected smart meter to be eligible for this tariff" issue want to try and avoid falling into this trap again, especially as winter is coming and I don't want to get caught again in a 6 month, very high holding tariff situation, as happened last time.

What I asked on the phone was the specific question "Do I need a E7 smart meter to be able to have this E7 tariff? ". I didn't manage to get an answer and haven't been able to confirm anything on their website. I'd love to just take things at face value and sign up for that tariff, but not if there is a sting in the tail that ends up screwing me over for months whilst I go through the whole smart meter fiasco again.
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Re: Energy Tariffs

#190

Post by ALAN/ALAN D »

Octopus

Giving away free electric blankets. ;)

https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/20038304 ... ts-winter/
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