Tomato Energy

[emmrecs]

No bill here yet, either. (My changeover date was September 7th.)

I downloaded the spreadsheet of my consumption record for September and see, slightly worryingly, that the period Friday 20th to Sunday 22nd has no data. Perhaps I should be pleased I can't be charged for those three days! ?

 

[tsedge]

Nope, its brilliant

I wonder if it is similar to my experience doing software development for Orange in the 90s....?

When Orange launched as a mobile network they had no billing system, but there was a month left for them to write one. They made it.... just about.

 

[MDWMG]

Good find John, now could you find me an internet provider that doesn’t hike their charges each year?

Andrews&Arnold. Not cheap, though, and more of a niche supplier for techies rather than the average user.

 

[johnb80]

Andrews&Arnold. Not cheap, though, and more of a niche supplier for techies rather than the average user.

You can say that again, more than double what openreach charge and their service is slower.

 

[mystreet]

Just got my bill, started with TE on the 6th September and it is a calendar month bill, so to 30th September.

It's also in the mywatts.co.uk page

Quick glance not as detailed as Octopus, but a lot cheaper.

 

[emmrecs]

My changeover day was September 7th but no bill sent or in the app, as of this afternoon.

 

[johnb80]

My changeover was 1st September, still no bill

 

[emmrecs]

Having just checked again on myWatts app I see that my "consumption record" for September is now complete but nothing, as yet, for October. Previously, there was a period of three days in September when nothing was showing.

So, perhaps, a bill is "due"??

 

[mystreet]

I logged into Mywatts and there is now a csv file for the billing period.

Played about a bit just to highlight my charging times, see attached. And yes, it is 1am - 6am cheap rate by the local clock.

Not as pretty as the Octopus bill, but I am sure that @johnb80 can/could work his magic with it.

Still not had an update sine 20:00 on the 8th on the dashboard.

Also, logging at the actual bill, there is a lot of incorrect information, the 'cheap rate' graph says 00:00 - 07:00 for one.

 

[APMG]

Following out of interest, the 5p rate with the lower daily charge is good for me who will WFH some days too.

I would miss the Octopus Mini read outs for my home assistant however and Octopus might be annoyed after just getting an EV Charger installed via them (Well I paid for it anyway!)

Looking into the OFCOM some stuff is pretty concerning with their previous outfit being Logicor Energy Limited and being fined a lot of money for failing to provide Renewable information etc. No real news on the outstanding 2023 Ofcom investigation.

Like many others however, I guess if they did go bust you and come crawling back to Octopus with no money out of pocket?

 

[johnb80]

Following out of interest, the 5p rate with the lower daily charge is good for me who will WFH some days too.

And 4 hours at cheaper rate during the peak times

I would miss the Octopus Mini read outs for my home assistant however

There are other ways to get meter data into HA

and Octopus might be annoyed after just getting an EV Charger installed via them (Well I paid for it anyway!)

Do you think Octopus didnt make money on selling and installing EVSE? why would they be annoyed?

Looking into the OFCOM some stuff is pretty concerning with their previous outfit being Logicor Energy Limited and being fined a lot of money for failing to provide Renewable information etc. No real news on the outstanding 2023 Ofcom investigation.

Octopus aren't without fault, no fines that I know of but they do get a lot of criticism of customer service and some unfair practices.

Like many others however, I guess if they did go bust you and come crawling back to Octopus with no money out of pocket?

A bit dramatic 'crawling back to Octopus'....... if Octopus were the most competitive then of course I would consider using them again if they could re-assure me about data protection of my data. I was a very satisfied Octopus customer for many years and I did initiate many people transferring to Octopus. One very annoying incident and their responses to it started me looking around finding Tomato. I have since taken many people with me to TE. I hope they dont go under, I dont see why they should but who knows? time will tell.

 

[johnb80]

I logged into Mywatts and there is now a csv file for the billing period.

Played about a bit just to highlight my charging times, see attached. And yes, it is 1am - 6am cheap rate by the local clock.

Not as pretty as the Octopus bill, but I am sure that @johnb80 can/could work his magic with it.

Still not had an update sine 20:00 on the 8th on the dashboard.

Also, logging at the actual bill, there is a lot of incorrect information, the 'cheap rate' graph says 00:00 - 07:00 for one.

Did you not tick work from home to get the lower rates and more off peak time?

 

[APMG]

And 4 hours at cheaper rate during the peak times


There are other ways to get meter data into HA


Do you think Octopus didnt make money on selling and installing EVSE? why would they be annoyed?


Octopus aren't without fault, no fines that I know of but they do get a lot of criticism of customer service and some unfair practices.


A bit dramatic 'crawling back to Octopus'....... if Octopus were the most competitive then of course I would consider using them again if they could re-assure me about data protection of my data. I was a very satisfied Octopus customer for many years and I did initiate many people transferring to Octopus. One very annoying incident and their responses to it started me looking around finding Tomato. I have since taken many people with me to TE. I hope they dont go under, I dont see why they should but who knows? time will tell.

Whilst I agree and have been "loyal" to Octopus but only due to them being the cheapest and easiest with the tracker rate over the last few years.

I rarely speak or raise at ticket with them so can't talk to recent customer experiences. The EV install process with them has been a breeze however but that is just one team.

I will probably await for my install to be completed (Hence the annoyance if I tried to do it now they might be tad confused) and then do the paperwork for Tomato Energy, as you say little risk if they do go flat as I won't be keeping a load of cash on file like Octopus and other providers tend to want!

I will still need to keep Gas via Octopus at any rate, as far as I can see Tomato don't offer it!

 

[johnb80]

Whilst I agree and have been "loyal" to Octopus but only due to them being the cheapest and easiest with the tracker rate over the last few years.

I rarely speak or raise at ticket with them so can't talk to recent customer experiences. The EV install process with them has been a breeze however but that is just one team.

I will probably await for my install to be completed (Hence the annoyance if I tried to do it now they might be tad confused) and then do the paperwork for Tomato Energy, as you say little risk if they do go flat as I won't be keeping a load of cash on file like Octopus and other providers tend to want!

I will still need to keep Gas via Octopus at any rate, as far as I can see Tomato don't offer it!

Im still on gas tracker with Octopus because it seems to be the cheapest. When I left, I asked about my export tariff, they said it could stay as it was, no problem. Since then there's no export data on my account, they havent replied to my emails and phoning them didnt get any action either. My SEG is now going to Scottish power.

 

[mystreet]

Did you not tick work from home to get the lower rates and more off peak time?

Signed up on my mobile and the page did not load correctly and I did not even see the options to 'improve your tariff '

Happy with what I got.

But not happy that it appears that I am the only one paying.

 

[emmrecs]

My SEG is now going to Scottish power.

As is mine once set up is complete.

 

[APMG]

Im still on gas tracker with Octopus because it seems to be the cheapest. When I left, I asked about my export tariff, they said it could stay as it was, no problem. Since then there's no export data on my account, they havent replied to my emails and phoning them didnt get any action either. My SEG is now going to Scottish power.

How are you getting your data into HA with the new Tomato setup?

Additionally, just signed up but seems when I try activate/reset password just get send an API link what gives me the status code and goes no further.. ?

 

[johnb80]

How are you getting your data into HA with the new Tomato setup?

I have ESP32 driven CT's, not too precise but good enough for general monitoring and it's realtime as opposed to the delayed response via Octopus Mini. There are quite a few different ways on Youtube dependent on the meter you have.

Additionally, just signed up but seems when I try activate/reset password just get send an API link what gives me the status code and goes no further.. ?

View attachment 31366

Dunno what to say there. Is that logging in to Mywatts or Tomato directly?

Mywatts they send you a login invitation IIRC.

 

[APMG]

Dunno what to say there. Is that logging in to Mywatts or Tomato directly?

Mywatts they send you a login invitation IIRC.

Yea, seems to be the MyWatts login. Clicked it for Activation of which took me to an API page with success code. Went via the website directly and said I was already activated.

Same with Password reset which is odd. Have emailed them back to see what is going on, could be something hasn't ticked over right on setup.

I do wonder if I have broken their coding by using an alias email (email+tomato@) ?

I have ESP32 driven CT's, not too precise but good enough for general monitoring and it's realtime as opposed to the delayed response via Octopus Mini. There are quite a few different ways on Youtube dependent on the meter you have.

Meter is the same as Smart Meter from Eon-Next - Philip Wake so I may need to do some digging....

 

[ljw2k]

Mywatts is still showing some wrong information for me but just got my first months bill and all looks correct. I have changed my Export over to Scotish Power and had confirmation from the 20-10/2024

Happy with my Bill from TE especially when it includes my standaing charge.