Energy Tariff - change or hold?

[Pablotti]

My energy provider went bust a little while back, and I was moved over to Shell on a flexible tariff. My current rate 28.408p/ kWh, 24/7 - (approx. annual usage is 2,450 kWh)

I'm thinking about changing tariff for when the MY arrives in late June (hopefully!). Although Octopus Go seems to be one of the favourites at 7.5p for 4 hours in the right, the normal rate is 35.78p/ kWh... some 25% higher than I'm currently paying.

We don't drive all that much - 500 miles a month maybe. Is there any point in moving to an EV-focussed tariff like Octopus Go to get cheap nigh time charging when we'll likely lose any savings by daytime increase?

 

[robmcm]

I’m in a similar situation with Bulb, don’t think it’s worth changing as my mileage is even less than yours.

 

[Jason71]

My energy provider went bust a little while back, and I was moved over to Shell on a flexible tariff. My current rate 28.408p/ kWh, 24/7 - (approx. annual usage is 2,450 kWh)

I'm thinking about changing tariff for when the MY arrives in late June (hopefully!). Although Octopus Go seems to be one of the favourites at 7.5p for 4 hours in the right, the normal rate is 35.78p/ kWh... some 25% higher than I'm currently paying.

We don't drive all that much - 500 miles a month maybe. Is there any point in moving to an EV-focussed tariff like Octopus Go to get cheap nigh time charging when we'll likely lose any savings by daytime increase?

Yes the day rate does look expensive on go but you need to take two things into account.
1) if you do 500 miles per month and all the charging is at home then you will use about 1800kwh in the car so on go your average price will be about £24.5p i.e. less than you are paying now.
2) Octopus go is fixed for a year. What do you think your variable rate will be when the price cap changes in October? You can do your own research on that but isn't the prediction that it will go up? in which case your fixed Octopus Day rate may not look so bad at that point......

Assuming I have got my very quick maths right. Seems like a no brainer to me. If you wish to thank me for this amazing advice feel free to DM me for an Octopus referal and you can save another £50

 

[Pablotti]

I just did the math, and it seems more cost effective to switch. Can someone please double check my understanding:

I'm ignoring the standing charge as it's the same for both providers, these are my calculations, based on:

2450 annual kWh at c.204 kWh /month
two full charges would at c.150kWh / month

Shell
204 * 28.408p - £57.95
150 * 28.408p - £42.61
Total - £100.56 / month

Octopus Go
204 * 35.78p - £72.99
150 * 7.5p - £11.25
Total - £84.24

My two main observations:
it's considerably cheaper to change tariff
I thought household usage would dwarf the car's needs, but there's not much in it!

 

[Jason71]

I just did the math, and it seems more cost effective to switch. Can someone please double check my understanding:

I'm ignoring the standing charge as it's the same for both providers, these are my calculations, based on:

2450 annual kWh at c.204 kWh /month
two full charges would at c.150kWh / month

Shell
204 * 28.408p - £57.95
150 * 28.408p - £42.61
Total - £100.56 / month

Octopus Go
204 * 35.78p - £72.99
150 * 7.5p - £11.25
Total - £84.24

My two main observations:
it's considerably cheaper to change tariff
I thought household usage would dwarf the car's needs, but there's not much in it!

close enough.
you should be aware though that if you think you will use 150kwh in the car to do 500 miles you may be disappointed. You will probably average between 250-300wh/m when driving BUT you will use more than that overall due to charging losses and preheat, sentry etc. You may find this overhead as much as 30% ( others will dispute this figure as being too high but that is what I found) so your 150 may need to be + a bit. depends how you drive to some extent of course
You also should think about running your dishwasher, washing machine, Tumble drier overnight that could easily be 700kwh per year shifted from day to night usage

 

[spdpsba]

I just did the math, and it seems more cost effective to switch. Can someone please double check my understanding:

I'm ignoring the standing charge as it's the same for both providers, these are my calculations, based on:

2450 annual kWh at c.204 kWh /month
two full charges would at c.150kWh / month

Shell
204 * 28.408p - £57.95
150 * 28.408p - £42.61
Total - £100.56 / month

Octopus Go
204 * 35.78p - £72.99
150 * 7.5p - £11.25
Total - £84.24

My two main observations:
it's considerably cheaper to change tariff
I thought household usage would dwarf the car's needs, but there's not much in it!

And if you are lucky Octopus sometime extend the cheap tariff for another year as a marketing strategy. You will be sort of in a win-win situation.

 

[robmcm]

My annual energy usage now is 7000kwh and with lower mileage it‘d be cheaper for me to stick. However with rises in October and potential to run some washing/drying to the night (not sure it’ll make a huge difference) it could still be worth it…

 

[Pablotti]

Very helpful, many thanks indeed.

 

[Jason71]

And if you are lucky Octopus sometime extend the cheap tariff for another year as a marketing strategy. You will be sort of in a win-win situation.

It happened to me I am on 14p/4.5p for another year but I would not bet on it going forward.
The other thing about Go is of course that though it is fixed there are no penalties when leaving so when prices start to come down again ( and they will) you will not be stuck with a high fixed rate. If they bring down the Go rates you should be able to ask to move to the new cheaper ones straight way or leave go altogether.

 

[Morak]

Although Octopus Go seems to be one of the favourites

Just wondering - why Go and not Intelligent Octopus? My current Go tariff expires in October and I was planning to shift over to Intelligent before the price cap increase as the extra 2 hours of cheap electricity appeals.

 

[ACarneiro]

Just wondering - why Go and not Intelligent Octopus? My current Go tariff expires in October and I was planning to shift over to Intelligent before the price cap increase as the extra 2 hours of cheap electricity appeals.

Intelligent is indeed an option but my perception is that it’s currently a VERY beta product with quite a few quirks and there are some issues with the cars going to “sleep” when it’s enabled.
I’m watching developments with great interest but sticking with Go Faster for the time being.

 

[Pablotti]

Just wondering - why Go and not Intelligent Octopus? My current Go tariff expires in October and I was planning to shift over to Intelligent before the price cap increase as the extra 2 hours of cheap electricity appeals.

Honestly? No idea. I haven't researched it that much. I'll take a look now