Changing electricity supplier

[Basicbob]

Hi

I’m current with British Gas and am paying 29.24 kWh and a standing charge of 38p

I’ve called octopus go and they have quote me 30.83 kWh and 7.5p for 4 hours and a standing charge of 24p

But they have said the charges are fixed for 12 months.

I do about 5000 miles a year, is it worth changing?
Also as we know the cost of electricity will go up even more in the autumn isn’t it a no brainier to change?

I asked him many time are you sure it’s fixed for 12 months as it sounds too good to be true

Any thoughts? Is your octopus go fixed?

 

[bc1979]

Of course you should change, it’s cheaper than you currently have and yes it’s fixed for 12 months.

I started at the start of March so mine is fixed to March 2023.

 

[Basicbob]

But electricity prices are going to increase again in October as I’m on a capped rate.

Isn’t this too good to be true am I missing something?

 

[Irata]

But electricity prices are going to increase again in October as I’m on a capped rate.

Isn’t this too good to be true am I missing something?

There are just a few exceptions where a fixed rate is better at the moment.

This is one of those few.

The peak rate is almost the same as you pay currently, the standing charge is much less, the off-peak is significantly less. The EV will be a significant portion of your usage, so make all of that off-peak only.

If these are the only two tariffs you have narrowed it down to, the maths is obvious to switch to Go.

And don't forget to use a referral code.

 

[Big Earl]

With rates like that, I'd be scrambling to get as much solar on my roof as I could fit. Reading some of these UK electric rate increase threads is really eye opening!

 

[Jason71]

There are just a few exceptions where a fixed rate is better at the moment.

This is one of those few.

The peak rate is almost the same as you pay currently, the standing charge is much less, the off-peak is significantly less. The EV will be a significant portion of your usage, so make all of that off-peak only.

If these are the only two tariffs you have narrowed it down to, the maths is obvious to switch to Go.

And don't forget to use a referral code.

my parents have an EV. their supplier went under and they got moved to British gas. In the process of moving to Octopus.
Agree. it was a total no brainer.
Go is clearly cheaper and fixed for a year.
price Cap will change in October and if by some miracle it goes down Octopus is fixed but no penalty for leaving unless that has changed recently.
So there is literally nothing to lose.
I do under 10k miles these days since Covid and off peak still accounts for 40% of my usage which at those rates would be 21.5p p per kw on average.
That would have seemed horrible a year ago but right now sounds like a bargain

 

[Jason71]

With rates like that, I'd be scrambling to get as much solar on my roof as I could fit. Reading some of these UK electric rate increase threads is really eye opening!

I was considering it but Octopus renewed my go faster for another year at 2019 rates so happy days.
You also have to remember we don't have that much sun. Payback times on Solar used to be 20years last time I looked so is probably still 10+ and a pretty big initial investment. if you can even find an installer with capacity right now

 

[dog299]

This has been on my mind to check and I was quoted crazy levels by Octopus.

Currently with EDF (standard duo tariff). I pay 29.24 pKh standing charge 37.92p
Octopus wanted 42 pKh with standing charge of 24.01p

Turns out I only have a one line smart meter (thanks British Gas - who installed it relatively recently) so I guess I cant get the split tariff.

I hope I am wrong, but I cant really see these prices ever going back down drastically.

I looked into Solar but my on property it is a no go

 

[WannabeOwner]

I'd be scrambling to get as much solar on my roof as I could fit

I've done that, but partly for the Eco side because I can afford it rather than it necessarily having a good payback ...

Reading some of these UK electric rate increase threads is really eye opening!

... you are 39°N - about the same as Lisbon in Portugal. Mainland UK starts at 50°N - which is a bit further North than 49th parallel of course , so think "Canada" for our UK latitude - and we run up to close to 60°N - the start of the Northern Territories in Canada. So our Winter insolation (when we use most electricity) is only 10% of what we get in mid Summer

It might be that battery is a better investment - buying electricity at cheap overnight rate and use it during daytime Peak. We have increasing amounts of Wind Turbines going up in the North Sea - the Dogger Bank:

is 160 miles x 60 miles and minimum depth is 43 feet (average 98 feet), so lends itself to being covered in turbines. UK is exploiting other areas of the North Sea too.

Best overnight rates were £0.05 per kWh, now around £0.12. Where the daytime peak is £0.20 - £0.30.

 

[Jason71]

I've done that, but partly for the Eco side because I can afford it rather than it necessarily having a good payback ...



... you are 39°N - about the same as Lisbon in Portugal. Mainland UK starts at 50°N - which is a bit further North than 49th parallel of course , so think "Canada" for our UK latitude - and we run up to close to 60°N - the start of the Northern Territories in Canada. So our Winter insolation (when we use most electricity) is only 10% of what we get in mid Summer

It might be that battery is a better investment - buying electricity at cheap overnight rate and use it during daytime Peak. We have increasing amounts of Wind Turbines going up in the North Sea - the Dogger Bank:

is 160 miles x 60 miles and minimum depth is 43 feet (average 98 feet), so lends itself to being covered in turbines. UK is exploiting other areas of the North Sea too.

Best overnight rates were £0.05 per kWh, now around £0.12. Where the daytime peak is £0.20 - £0.30.

still 7.5p overnight on Octopus go. Only 4 hours though of course

 

[Alan J]

Hi

I’m current with British Gas and am paying 29.24 kWh and a standing charge of 38p

I’ve called octopus go and they have quote me 30.83 kWh and 7.5p for 4 hours and a standing charge of 24p

But they have said the charges are fixed for 12 months.

I do about 5000 miles a year, is it worth changing?
Also as we know the cost of electricity will go up even more in the autumn isn’t it a no brainier to change?

I asked him many time are you sure it’s fixed for 12 months as it sounds too good to be true

Any thoughts? Is your octopus go fixed?

Hi

I’m current with British Gas and am paying 29.24 kWh and a standing charge of 38p

I’ve called octopus go and they have quote me 30.83 kWh and 7.5p for 4 hours and a standing charge of 24p

But they have said the charges are fixed for 12 months.

I do about 5000 miles a year, is it worth changing?
Also as we know the cost of electricity will go up even more in the autumn isn’t it a no brainier to change?

I asked him many time are you sure it’s fixed for 12 months as it sounds too good to be true

Any thoughts? Is your octopus go fixed?

I've been with Octopus for many months and I do find that they are one of the best / fairest Suppliers around. If you request their Go Faster Tariff then you can choose the 4 Hour overnight period we have 20:30 - 00:30 which is handy for the Dishwasher etc. so you save even more. If you are going to change be sure to use a Friend's Referral Code as you then both get £50.

 

[GlynG]

With rates like that, I'd be scrambling to get as much solar on my roof as I could fit. Reading some of these UK electric rate increase threads is really eye opening!

The current charges are encouraging people to have solar and battery storage - the solar companies are really busy once again and there is quite a wait, also helps that today the chancellor has announced zero VAT on Solar, wind power indeed anything that conserves energy - so insulation too - and the 0% rating is for 5 years (previously it was either 5% or 20% depending on the item)

 

[Fury1]

I was with British Gas, I believe on 20.076p and standing charge of 26.825p.I decide to change to Octopus and it was very easy and straighforward. I changed onto their standard tarrif of 33p, but only for a few weeks whilst they booked in and changed my smart meter. That was yesterday. I have already had confirmation I am now on Go - 29.82 through the day and 7.5p for 4 hours overnight standing charge of 26.82p

I could have stayed with British Gas for a bit longer at 20p but that will soon go up and I believe highter than what I am now paying.

I have just set the car to charge overnight for the first time so hopefully all goes well.

Richard

 

[Big Earl]

Four hours of off-peak rates is pretty short. Even at max AC amps (32 standard range and 48 long range), you can't fully charge a Tesla in four hours.

 

[Fury1]

Four hours of off-peak rates is pretty short. Even at max AC amps (32 standard range and 48 long range), you can't fully charge a Tesla in four hours.

the majority of my 10-12k a year milage is commuting, 12 miles each way 24 miles a day, coupled with short trips for pleasure I can just plug in most days after work, recharge through the night and its full again for morning.
Yes I will do longer journeys but will just charge accordingly as and when required

 

[Ringo]

I'm hoping that I've got this wrong. We have a 3-phase supply at home which is great for a speedy charge (I have the Andersen A2). However, I am on a fixed-rate electrcitiy supply from British Gas. I really want to move to Octopus Energy in order to get a night-rate - not just for the car, but also for dishwasher, washing machine, tumble dryer, etc. However, I don't think that it is possible to get a smart meter with a 3-phase supply. Fingers crossed, I'm mistaken.

 

[PITA]

I'm hoping that I've got this wrong. We have a 3-phase supply at home which is great for a speedy charge (I have the Andersen A2). However, I am on a fixed-rate electrcitiy supply from British Gas. I really want to move to Octopus Energy in order to get a night-rate - not just for the car, but also for dishwasher, washing machine, tumble dryer, etc. However, I don't think that it is possible to get a smart meter with a 3-phase supply. Fingers crossed, I'm mistaken.

Yes this isn't a problem.

Our house is on a 3 Phase supply, and we have a 3 Phase Smart Meter (supplied & fitted free - from Octopus Energy)... and we're on the Octopus Go Tariff.

We've got a dedicated 22kW Zappi Ev Charger on 3 Phase wired directly to the Grid via a 3 phase distribution board. Charges the Tesla at 12kW ... does about 67% of battery in the 4 hour cheap tariff window at night... or charges from Grid at 12kW anytime during the day at peak rate regardless of whatever the house is doing. It has no access to Solar or Powerwalls. It's ideal for emergency fast charging without draining Powerwalls, or busy back to back driving days, or Ev visitors/guests to the house and need a quick charge.

We've also got a 7kW Zappi Ev Charger wired directly into the Tesla Gateway 2 unit, which means we can also use this charger for cheap rate electric anytime night or day, getting power from our two Tesla Powerwalls and 7.2kWp Solar Array. Two Powerwalls discharge at 10kW so they're ideal for a 7kW ev charger.

Great thing about 3 Phase... is we can charge at 12kW on one Zappi Charger, charge at 7kW on the other Zappi charger, charge the Powerwalls at 7kW and run the house in the background... all at the same time, all during the 4 hour cheap night tariff.

The two car chargers are also load balanced, so if someone turns on an 8kW electric shower during all this... the car chargers reduce capacity until they finish... then ramps back up.

 

[PITA]

Four hours of off-peak rates is pretty short. Even at max AC amps (32 standard range and 48 long range), you can't fully charge a Tesla in four hours.

Just picking up on this comment... it's true, but you can get pretty close... and 'technically' it is possible with two Powerwalls and 3 Phase.

Our 22kW charger on 3 Phase does about 67% of the car battery in 4 hours at 5p per 1kWh.

So if you only ever charge to 90% battery capacity... then you can leave it as low as 23% to get back up to 90% for the following day.

That's not bad... if you purely want to stay within the cheap rate window.

You could then also cheat... by swapping to a 7kW charger in the morning and fill from the 27kWh stored in the Powerwalls overnight... which would then give you your full car battery worth at cheap rate

 

[Kansalis]

You could then also cheat... by swapping to a 7kW charger in the morning and fill from the 27kWh stored in the Powerwalls overnight... which would then give you your full car battery worth at cheap rate

Or, just not pay the 5 figures for the Powerwalls & charge as needed at either rate (just kidding, I'd have them if I could but can't install them here).

 

[Basicbob]

With octopus go I’ve read you can amend the 4 hour window for cheap electricity has anyone done this? If yes why did you manage to change it to