Empowering our clients
The ‘wholesale’ value vitality corporations pay for the ability they promote varies each all year long and all through the day primarily based on an enormous vary of things, such because the import value of fuel, the climate, and the way a lot demand there may be. When vitality corporations give you fastened costs, they’re basically providing insurance coverage insurance policies to handle that variability.
These insurance coverage insurance policies add to the price of vitality for shoppers – so if a buyer is completely happy to just accept variable pricing, they’ll most likely lower your expenses in the long term by merely not having to pay for the insurance coverage insurance policies.
Importantly, half-hourly wholesale electrical energy costs are usually fairly low at most instances outdoors of the 4pm-7pm peak. In case your electrical energy consumption largely outdoors this time, you might be higher off with a tariff which displays wholesale pricing.
By way of vitality consumption outdoors of peak durations, this can be fairly a pure match for lots of people. For instance, many individuals with electrical automobiles cost them in a single day; and folks with electrical heaters can select to have them on in a single day and through the day, however flip them off at peak instances and depend on the warmth they’ve already constructed up. In some ways, it is like an Economic system 7 tariff, however with 21 hours of off-peak vitality fairly than 7.
Whereas we nonetheless count on the overwhelming majority of consumers to decide on our extra conventional tariffs, the Agile Octopus is an efficient selection for individuals who need to experiment with reducing payments by altering habits, or the rising variety of people who find themselves lowering their carbon footprint by shifting to electrical heating or automobiles.
We estimate {that a} typical twin gasoline family utilizing 3,100 kWh of electrical energy per 12 months, and which then acquires an electrical automobile utilizing a further 5,000 kWh per 12 months (about 15,000 miles) would have saved £669 in comparison with a Large 6 common normal variable tariff (SVT), and a few hundred kilos in comparison with our personal 12 month fastened tariff over the past 12 months.
This chart reveals how the tariff works, utilizing the common costs from Feb 2017-Feb 2018 (ie the final 12 months):
What you’ll be able to see is that the Agile Octopus would have been about 45% cheaper than the usual variable tariffs from the Large 6 (about 9p for the Agile Octopus vs 16.4p for The Large 6) on a regular basis besides 4pm-7pm. Certainly, it will even be about 1/3 cheaper than our personal most cost-effective fastened tariff.
Nevertheless, for the two.5 hours from 4pm-7pm the Agile Octopus would replicate the excessive demand on the grid and value round 25p – about 50% greater than the Large SVT and about 85% greater than the Octopus fastened tariff.
So in the event you can devour most of your electrical energy outdoors of these 2.5 hours, the Agile Octopus is a giant saver. If not, chances are you’ll be higher off with a extra conventional tariff.
These figures are averages – and naturally every day could also be totally different. That’s why we alert clients to peaks and plunges. The grid costs – and thus the Agile Octopus value – are set at 4pm every day for the following day. If there are going to be notably costly or low-cost durations, we’ll let you recognize as a way to select whether or not to undertake any consumption accordingly. For instance, it usually prices about 9p to do a washing load at off peak instances, however with the worst surges it might value about 36.5p so chances are you’ll select to carry off for a bit.
Octopus needs to make this tariff a constructive expertise for individuals who are interested by extra actively managing their vitality extra actively. So, to take the sting out of the market volatility we do cap the utmost value you’ll pay at 78p/kWh in your electrical energy.
And there aren’t any exit charges – so you turn to a different tariff at any time you don’t just like the variability, or are frightened a couple of interval of excessive costs.
Greening the grid
Agile Octopus is 100% renewable electrical energy, so our clients will probably be straight supporting photo voltaic and wind vitality.
Much more considerably, they might be serving to the entire grid to change into extra inexperienced.
What’s thrilling about Britain’s transition to renewable vitality is that the ‘gasoline’ for these energy stations – principally wind and sunshine – is free. The value vitality suppliers pay for that energy is definitely a mix of the price of constructing them within the first place (a ‘fastened’ value that we are able to’t change) and managing the grid to permit for the truth that the wind doesn’t at all times blow on the similar time we’re utilizing a lot of vitality (a ‘variable’ value).
This variable value can typically even go ‘detrimental’ to incentivise vitality use throughout peak technology. And, as we get extra renewable technology approaching to the grid, it’s a issue that can change into an increasing number of vital.
If we are able to shift demand to when there may be a lot of spare renewable vitality, we are able to move on the financial savings on the variable value to clients and in the end assist funding in additional renewable technology.
On the finish of the day, it’s got to be an excellent factor to assist folks select to make use of electrical energy at instances it’s cheaper. That is crucial to keep away from huge expense in renewing the grid and enhance the financial viability of renewables.
Collectively, these forces can save the nation billions of kilos in infrastructure and pace up the adoption of a extra sustainable strategy to vitality – all whereas saving clients cash in return for consuming electrical energy barely otherwise.
This tariff received’t get us there by itself, however the innovation we’ve made is step one on the street for the UK’s journey in the direction of a extra sustainable vitality future – and we’re so excited to see how clients reply.
Questions? Drop us a notice at agile@octopus.vitality or electronic mail me at gregj@octopus.vitality
