Off peak charging cost

[Peterch]

Ooh.. I'm with Bulb, but I've never seen anything on their site about an "EV rate", or am I just blind like SWMBO says? Then again are they entertaining any swaps right now, as they're in "special admin"? It's a shame, I've found their customer service has been brill after years of mediocre providers....

Update: Found it, I just haven't been on the website recently. For me in Rural Wales, the off-peak EV rate (2-6am) is 7.49p, (unlike trendy metropolitan dwellers, where it's 5 point summat; I suppose 'cos they have to push the electrons up all the hills where I am). Still that aren't too bad, as the day rate is staying the same....

still waiting to be swapped over!

 

[ging353]

I've just received my new Go tariff from Octopus Energy from April 1st.
29.82p/kwh peak rate....7.5p/kwh off peak.
old price was 13.31p/kwh peak rate.....5p/kwh off peak.
The flexible rate will be 19.89p/kwh.
I thought energy was going up 54%.
That's more like a 120% increase to the peak rate.

 

[Kithmo]

I've just received my new Go tariff from Octopus Energy from April 1st.
29.82p/kwh peak rate....7.5p/kwh off peak.
old price was 13.31p/kwh peak rate.....5p/kwh off peak.
The flexible rate will be 19.89p/kwh.
I thought energy was going up 54%.
That's more like a 120% increase to the peak rate.

Sounds about right, there was a 50% or so rise just recently and another due in April which comes out at near 100%.
Mine was 15p/kWh went up around 50% to 22p and in April I'm expecting another 50% to 33p so 14p to 33p is about 135%

 

[Vipar]

Energy suppliers have now joined the biggest liars list, along with insurance companies, estate agents, and people who owe you money.

 

[Deleted member 7171]

I've just received my new Go tariff from Octopus Energy from April 1st.
29.82p/kwh peak rate....7.5p/kwh off peak.
old price was 13.31p/kwh peak rate.....5p/kwh off peak.
The flexible rate will be 19.89p/kwh.
I thought energy was going up 54%.
That's more like a 120% increase to the peak rate.

What is the standing charge?

 

[ging353]

What is the standing charge?

26.82p

 

[dgs99]

It like the old game of :-
“Pick a number between one and ten, double it ……….. you know how the rest goes ! .
We are buying in 50% of our gas requirements for the U.K. at the moment.
We are being charged anything these people want to charge us !.
Far to reliant on gas imports.
This is not news !.
We have been doing this for donkeys years and nobody has seen this coming ?.
They are utter fools !.

Another option which I have just taken up today is to buy a share in Ripple Energy. Have just bought a 4265kWh share in a new wind farm being built in Ayrshire. Only problem is it's still a green field site but will start paying in Dec 2023.

 

[Deleted member 7171]

26.82p

At least that's a modest increase, some companies have really loaded extra on to the standing charge.

 

[smokie]

My Go as already 16+p as I changed the times last year. I guess your 54% was comparing it to current rather than aged tariffs. Anyway that was an across-the -board figure IIRC.

And there's the problem, when you have something that is cheaper than it really ought to be - when the time comes for a rise, it hurts! I remember being in an organisation where we'd built up quite a surplus which wasn't needed, so the subs were actually lowered for a few years while we soaked it up. Everyone complained when it went back to it's previous level, as they'd forgotten what it used to cost.

My Octopus Go ends in June I think. I tried renewing a couple of weeks backs but they wouldn't let me. Not really sure it would have benefitted me by much anyway.

 

[Lovemyev]

Of course we can all do something to try and reduce our use of electricity, in an attempt to reduce our running costs.
This could be as simple as moving our washing machine / tumble drier times over to use cheaper "Off Peak" energy.
But yesterday I was speaking to somebody who has a serious lung condition, that requires him to run an electric air pump to assist with his breathing.
The machine has an electric pump that provides oxygen to help with his breathing.
He has no choice of limiting his usage, he runs the machine on peak rate or he is real trouble medically.
The same must apply to anybody running a kidney dialysis machine etc.
Spare a thought to these poor people folks .

 

[biffo]

Another option which I have just taken up today is to buy a share in Ripple Energy. Have just bought a 4265kWh share in a new wind farm being built in Ayrshire. Only problem is it's still a green field site but will start paying in Dec 2023.

I saw this on a TV show (or maybe a YouTube channel) about this, would have been a Robot Llywellyn thing or perhaps Countryfile - looked interesting. This the one I saw was an new installation in Wales.

Of course we can all do something to try and reduce our use of electricity, in an attempt to reduce our running costs.
This could be as simple as moving our washing machine / tumble drier times over to use cheaper "Off Peak" energy.
But yesterday I was speaking to somebody who has a serious lung condition, that requires him to run an electric air pump to assist with his breathing.
The machine has an electric pump that provides oxygen to help with his breathing.
He has no choice of limiting his usage, he runs the machine on peak rate or he is real trouble medically.
The same must apply to anybody running a kidney dialysis machine etc.
Spare a thought to these poor people folks .

I think the only way to reduce cost of peak time electricity needs is solar and/or storage batteries - but the initial costs are prohibitive for many and the payback time varies dramatically based on individual circumstance.

 

[Vipar]

I’m 80 so I can’t see it being viable for me

 

[rpannell]

Energy suppliers have now joined the biggest liars list, along with insurance companies, estate agents, and people who owe you money.

Is that why so many have gone bust recently - because they have been charging too much?
Nearly every electricity company has been making a loss over the past few months whilst the cost of any electricity produced using gas has cost more than the energy company has been able to charge. I don't begrudge them trying to recover the losses now.

 

[Lguk]

I've just received my new Go tariff from Octopus Energy from April 1st.
29.82p/kwh peak rate....7.5p/kwh off peak.
old price was 13.31p/kwh peak rate.....5p/kwh off peak.
The flexible rate will be 19.89p/kwh.
I thought energy was going up 54%.
That's more like a 120% increase to the peak rate.

The price cap (flexible rate) will increase 53% in April to around 26p/kwh. The price cap doesn't count for fixed term contracts, which is why signing a 2 year deal above the current/projected flexible rate cap is beyond silly, unless you're making use of a ToU tariff to offset it.

Look at your usage, are you charging enough in 4 hours at 7.5p vs the remaining 20 hours at 30p instead of 26? - the less you're charging at night, the less the Go price makes sense vs the price cap, also the same if your daily usage is much higher than mine.

Charging is rounded and not taking into account losses and I've used whole pennies.

7kw charge for 4 hours at 7.5p = £2.10
7kw charge for 4 hours at 26p = £7.28
I average 18kw/day without charging a car.
18kw at 30p = £5.40
18kw at 26p = £4.68

Total cost for Go using 18kw in 20 hours and 28kw in 4 hours = £7.50 /day
Total cost for Capped price, using 46kw in 24 hours = £11.96 /day

However, if you're only charging for 2 hours, every other day, and that's an average of 7kw/day at the lower rate.

Total cost for Go using 18kw in 20 hours and 7kw in 4 hours = £5.92 /day
Total cost for Capped price, using 25kw in 24 hours = £6.50 /day

You then of course have your standing charge on top of that, and I believe Go's is a few pence higher than the flexible rate.

When mine comes up for renewal, I'll strongly consider letting go of Go and going back to the variable capped rate. I switched to Go as it locked me into 16/5 until September, when all other fixed rates were 20p for 24 hours, when my 5 (eventually) arrives, and despite forking out for a 7kw charger, I will likely be charging at work 95% of the time, thus making it questionable if Go saves me money or not, unless I can time-shift other uses.

 

[Jomarkh]

I do use the full 4 hours on the Go tariff to charge my MG5, I also run the washing machine, immersion heater, on-suite water heater and various other charges during that 4 hour period. I am still working on the wife to use the shower at 4am

 

[weedavemac]

I've just received my new Go tariff from Octopus Energy from April 1st.
29.82p/kwh peak rate....7.5p/kwh off peak.
old price was 13.31p/kwh peak rate.....5p/kwh off peak.
The flexible rate will be 19.89p/kwh.
I thought energy was going up 54%.
That's more like a 120% increase to the peak rate.

It is the cap that is going up 54%. Sounds like you are currently on a very good fixed rate which is significantly below the cap as it stands just now. So your overall rise will be higher.... But you have done well to keep your energy prices down thus far.

 

[Ping]

The price cap (flexible rate) will increase 53% in April to around 26p/kwh. The price cap doesn't count for fixed term contracts, which is why signing a 2 year deal above the current/projected flexible rate cap is beyond silly, unless you're making use of a ToU tariff to offset it.

Look at your usage, are you charging enough in 4 hours at 7.5p vs the remaining 20 hours at 30p instead of 26? - the less you're charging at night, the less the Go price makes sense vs the price cap, also the same if your daily usage is much higher than mine.

Charging is rounded and not taking into account losses and I've used whole pennies.

7kw charge for 4 hours at 7.5p = £2.10
7kw charge for 4 hours at 26p = £7.28
I average 18kw/day without charging a car.
18kw at 30p = £5.40
18kw at 26p = £4.68

Total cost for Go using 18kw in 20 hours and 28kw in 4 hours = £7.50 /day
Total cost for Capped price, using 46kw in 24 hours = £11.96 /day

However, if you're only charging for 2 hours, every other day, and that's an average of 7kw/day at the lower rate.

Total cost for Go using 18kw in 20 hours and 7kw in 4 hours = £5.92 /day
Total cost for Capped price, using 25kw in 24 hours = £6.50 /day

You then of course have your standing charge on top of that, and I believe Go's is a few pence higher than the flexible rate.

When mine comes up for renewal, I'll strongly consider letting go of Go and going back to the variable capped rate. I switched to Go as it locked me into 16/5 until September, when all other fixed rates were 20p for 24 hours, when my 5 (eventually) arrives, and despite forking out for a 7kw charger, I will likely be charging at work 95% of the time, thus making it questionable if Go saves me money or not, unless I can time-shift other uses.

Thanks for this, really helpful. I'm with Go and will probably stick with it.

 

[Ozzie1989]

The price cap (flexible rate) will increase 53% in April to around 26p/kwh. The price cap doesn't count for fixed term contracts, which is why signing a 2 year deal above the current/projected flexible rate cap is beyond silly, unless you're making use of a ToU tariff to offset it.

Look at your usage, are you charging enough in 4 hours at 7.5p vs the remaining 20 hours at 30p instead of 26? - the less you're charging at night, the less the Go price makes sense vs the price cap, also the same if your daily usage is much higher than mine.

Charging is rounded and not taking into account losses and I've used whole pennies.

7kw charge for 4 hours at 7.5p = £2.10
7kw charge for 4 hours at 26p = £7.28
I average 18kw/day without charging a car.
18kw at 30p = £5.40
18kw at 26p = £4.68

Total cost for Go using 18kw in 20 hours and 28kw in 4 hours = £7.50 /day
Total cost for Capped price, using 46kw in 24 hours = £11.96 /day

However, if you're only charging for 2 hours, every other day, and that's an average of 7kw/day at the lower rate.

Total cost for Go using 18kw in 20 hours and 7kw in 4 hours = £5.92 /day
Total cost for Capped price, using 25kw in 24 hours = £6.50 /day

You then of course have your standing charge on top of that, and I believe Go's is a few pence higher than the flexible rate.

When mine comes up for renewal, I'll strongly consider letting go of Go and going back to the variable capped rate. I switched to Go as it locked me into 16/5 until September, when all other fixed rates were 20p for 24 hours, when my 5 (eventually) arrives, and despite forking out for a 7kw charger, I will likely be charging at work 95% of the time, thus making it questionable if Go saves me money or not, unless I can time-shift other uses.

My calculations showed that with only 10 hours charge per week, the new Octopus Go rates were still cheaper than the current price cap for me. So with the new price cap Go is still a no brainer!

Price Cap Usage (20.99p)
Per Year Gas £556.54
Per Year Electric £1344.68
Total £1901.22
EV 10 hours a week £ 720.38
Overall Total £2621.60

Octopus Go Usage (31p day, 7.5 night)
Per Year Gas £556.54
Per Year Electric £1572.95
Total £2129.49
EV 10 hours per week £ 257.40
Overall Total £2386.89

So yes paying more for daytime electric but saving significantly on the EV charging. Also goes without saying the more you charge (within 4 hour window) the more you save.

 

[biffo]

Another option which I have just taken up today is to buy a share in Ripple Energy. Have just bought a 4265kWh share in a new wind farm being built in Ayrshire. Only problem is it's still a green field site but will start paying in Dec 2023.

This was the video I was thinking about

 

[EVsince2016]

My calculations showed that with only 10 hours charge per week, the new Octopus Go rates were still cheaper than the current price cap for me. So with the new price cap Go is still a no brainer!

Price Cap Usage (20.99p)
Per Year Gas £556.54
Per Year Electric £1344.68
Total £1901.22
EV 10 hours a week £ 720.38
Overall Total £2621.60

Octopus Go Usage (31p day, 7.5 night)
Per Year Gas £556.54
Per Year Electric £1572.95
Total £2129.49
EV 10 hours per week £ 257.40
Overall Total £2386.89

So yes paying more for daytime electric but saving significantly on the EV charging. Also goes without saying the more you charge (within 4 hour window) the more you save.

You also move running appliances to the overnight window too which increases the savings.