New Octopus Go tariff and off peak options?

[tj333]

So I'm looking at switching to Octopus as soon as I can get a smart meter installed. I'm with Scottish Power at the moment (will have to end the contract early, but it's only £30 to do that). Would I be better asking Scottish Power to install the smart meter before switching to Octopus?

Scottish power may have more of a network of smart meter installers(?) though it seems to be fairly pot luck as to how people are getting on getting them installed.

 

[Roy W.]

Scottish power may have more of a network of smart meter installers(?) though it seems to be fairly pot luck as to how people are getting on getting them installed.

Certainly the major networks do have their own teams of meter fitters, but I think they still have to supplement them with contractors. It really does seem to be pot luck, combined with “he who shouts loudest”.

 

[Christiez]

So took your advice and contacted Octopus on the 3rd December to triple check all was OK - got a swift reply saying they had spoken with SMS Engineering and the appointment is confirmed for 8th December.

With it being appointment day today, I thought I'd contact SMS directly to get a better indication of time and more importantly make sure it was happening. I'm not sure why but I wasn't surprised when I was told the appointment wasn't happening, what did surprise me is being told it had been cancelled..! Now waiting on a call/email back from Octopus

Quick update, Octopus have offered a credit to my account for the inconvenience and am told the next available appointment would be Feb.

An hour later, engineer phones to say he's on his way, turns out appointment was never cancelled and he's had visibility for days! Anyway, meter now installed so imagine I just have to wait to get switched over to 'Go'?

 

[Roy W.]

Quick update, Octopus have offered a credit to my account for the inconvenience and am told the next available appointment would be Feb.

An hour later, engineer phones to say he's on his way, turns out appointment was never cancelled and he's had visibility for days! Anyway, meter now installed so imagine I just have to wait to get switched over to 'Go'?

That’s a good result!

As long as your new meters have been configured correctly, you should soon have visibility of your usage data in the app. Once you’ve got that, they can swap you to GO.

I was switched to GO two days after going live.

 

[Sinx]

The four hour off peak window is enough to add about 100 miles of range with a 32A 7kW charger.

That's very useful - I was just wondering!

 

[JCremonini]

That’s a good result!

As long as your new meters have been configured correctly, you should soon have visibility of your usage data in the app. Once you’ve got that, they can swap you to GO.

I was switched to GO two days after going live.

About the same for me too. Meter installed on a Thursday, email appeared on the Sunday inviting me to switch over.

 

[bangtidy]

You could ask SP how quickly they will fit your smart meters. As long as they’re SMETS2 they will work fine with Octopus. If SP can’t give you any idea, then I’d move and then pester Octopus for your new meters.

I’ve taken the liberty of sending you a referral code for Octopus too.

Thanks Roy - I'll use your referral code if I manage to get this sorted. Our meter is in the cellar and we're quite rural and so there's no mobile signal in the cellar unfortunatly. My understanding though is that these smart meters (or at least the SMETS2 ones) use some other network run by the 'Data Communications Company' - is there any way of checking coverage for that?

I'm guessing not so I'll probably just have to cross my fingers and hope for the best!

 

[Roy W.]

Thanks Roy - I'll use your referral code if I manage to get this sorted. Our meter is in the cellar and we're quite rural and so there's no mobile signal in the cellar unfortunatly. My understanding though is that these smart meters (or at least the SMETS2 ones) use some other network run by the 'Data Communications Company' - is there any way of checking coverage for that?

I'm guessing not so I'll probably just have to cross my fingers and hope for the best!

I don’t think there is any way for you or I to check, but I’d guess the meter fitter would carry a signal strength meter.

From your cellar, I would hope they could perhaps fit some sort of external antenna to give your meter the required signal.

Bear in mind this is all just guesswork on my part, but don’t lose hope!

 

[Adopado]

Thanks Roy - I'll use your referral code if I manage to get this sorted. Our meter is in the cellar and we're quite rural and so there's no mobile signal in the cellar unfortunatly. My understanding though is that these smart meters (or at least the SMETS2 ones) use some other network run by the 'Data Communications Company' - is there any way of checking coverage for that?

I'm guessing not so I'll probably just have to cross my fingers and hope for the best!

They tend to use SMETS1 meters in rural areas. Apparently they have more reliable connectivity than the SMETS2. They may be able to offer an extender for the mobile signal but you may have a problem there.

 

[Jason71]

You could ask SP how quickly they will fit your smart meters. As long as they’re SMETS2 they will work fine with Octopus. If SP can’t give you any idea, then I’d move and then pester Octopus for your new meters.

I’ve taken the liberty of sending you a referral code for Octopus too.

well of course you have

 

[Mark_T]

Since I know we have a few Octopus users in here ...

Anyone else having problems viewing their recent usage data on the web portal or via the API?

Both electric and gas have no recent data right now and no ability to move between days, the buttons are greyed out...

Just curious if it is just me or a general issue?

 

[kevuwk]

Since I know we have a few Octopus users in here ...

Anyone else having problems viewing their recent usage data on the web portal or via the API?

Both electric and gas have no recent data right now and no ability to move between days, the buttons are greyed out...

Just curious if it is just me or a general issue?

Seems to be a SMETS2 issue. You can change the date in the URL and from what I’ve read most days are missing for 2020

 

[Mark_T]

Seems to be a SMETS2 issue. You can change the date in the URL and from what I’ve read most days are missing for 2020

That's fine, as long as it isn't just me

I mostly use the API anyway and yes, 2020 data is missing there as well. Agile pricing is still being updated daily though.

 

[jimbo_hippo]

That's fine, as long as it isn't just me

I mostly use the API anyway and yes, 2020 data is missing there as well. Agile pricing is still being updated daily though.

The OctoWatchdog app on iOS is interesting when working with the API. All my stats have gone a bit strange last few days but it’s worth a punt to see the breakdown of your usage easily.

 

[MrBadger]

I noticed missing data a few days back - this is last gas reading on website. Hope they fix the issue with gas readings - graph values on website totally fictitious 6.969 vs 77.8 (histogram matches incorrect values)

 

[vitesse]

I've looked into this but it appears although the off-peak rate is around 8p less than my standard tariff, the peak rate and standard charges are both considerably more so not entirely sure if there is merit in this for me.

I was on a very competitive single-rate plan (10p all day but with slightly higher standard charges) but this was about to expire anyway. My spreadsheet indicated with my predicted usage I'd still be slightly better off with Octopus once we got the Tesla.

If you already have some kind of Economy 7 deal you might be OK to stick with that. It all depends how much you expect to charge the car off-peak and what your demand is during he peak hours as well as the relative standing charges.

I'm pretty good at ensuring the car only charges 99% of the time off-peak. I've also made sure the dishwasher and washing machine run as much as possible off-peak. So far, the consumption I'm seeing with Octopus overall is lower than predicted so my balance with them has actually grown a fair bit. Only for November did the bill equal our monthly payment and it will be a bit more for December but I can't seeing the colder months depleting the credit in the account. December is usually the most energy-heavy month in our household.

 

[Mark_T]

The OctoWatchdog app on iOS is interesting when working with the API. All my stats have gone a bit strange last few days but it’s worth a punt to see the breakdown of your usage easily.

The app only works if you are actually on the Agile tariff though, I've not yet made the jump from Go to Agile, but I use the API to monitor the relative cost of Go vs Agile for my specific usage. Amazing what you can do from within Excel spreadsheets

Once we get through the winter I'll have enough data to make an informed decision.

 

[jimbo_hippo]

The app only works if you are actually on the Agile tariff though, I've not yet made the jump from Go to Agile, but I use the API to monitor the relative cost of Go vs Agile for my specific usage. Amazing what you can do from within Excel spreadsheets

Once we get through the winter I'll have enough data to make an informed decision.

Ah, ok. Yeah. I'm on Agile Outgoing now so can export excess solar too. Need some sun now to see if it works!

 

[bangtidy]

Thanks Roy - I'll use your referral code if I manage to get this sorted. Our meter is in the cellar and we're quite rural and so there's no mobile signal in the cellar unfortunatly. My understanding though is that these smart meters (or at least the SMETS2 ones) use some other network run by the 'Data Communications Company' - is there any way of checking coverage for that?

I'm guessing not so I'll probably just have to cross my fingers and hope for the best!

Hmmm, just got this reply from Octopus...

"Thanks for the enquiry, Smart meters unfortunately do use mobile networks. My advice would be to see if Scottish Power can install one and see if it works, and then to transfer to us. As should it work our Go tariff would really help you save money when powering your EV."

Does anyone know which mobile network these meters use?

Any ideas as to an easy way to improve the signal in the house?

 

[AndyWrightUK]

Hmmm, just got this reply from Octopus...


Does anyone know which mobile network these meters use?

Any ideas as to an easy way to improve the signal in the house?

Depends where in the country you are - there are 2 networks; Telefonica (O2) run the southern areas over their cellular network, and northern areas are on a purpose-built network operated by Arquiva.