My electricity bill has just tripled: how about yours? Alternative suppliers?
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you need to have a smart meter, and sign up to the Octopus loyalty point scheme. then can cash in the points for coffee.what?
they never mentioned a free weekly nero coffee to me
not that I'd take it mind
I haven't bothered myself
Bahnhof Strasse
Met up with Hannah Courtoy a week next Tuesday
I have an Octopus smart meter, but no free Nero, gits.
They are great if you have an electric car; the unit of fuel you add is kWh, the fast chargers at a service station charge ~75p/kWh, the slow chargers at Sainsbury's ~38p/kWh, which is similar to your home rate. Octopus between midnight and 5am, 6p/kWh, just plug it in and tell it to charge only at those times. Massive saving there.
They are great if you have an electric car; the unit of fuel you add is kWh, the fast chargers at a service station charge ~75p/kWh, the slow chargers at Sainsbury's ~38p/kWh, which is similar to your home rate. Octopus between midnight and 5am, 6p/kWh, just plug it in and tell it to charge only at those times. Massive saving there.
cupid_stunt
Chief seagull hater & farmerbarleymow's nemesis.
I am paying that for a 2-bed bungalow, but it's a small one, footprint is about 40% smaller than the 2-bed bungalow I moved from last Dec., and roof & walls are fully insulated, plus all windows & doors are double glazed.
MickiQ
In My Defence I was left Unsupervised
Is that for both gas and electric?
cupid_stunt
Chief seagull hater & farmerbarleymow's nemesis.
Yes, and I am currently just over £300 in credit, which is enough as we move into winter.
MickiQ
In My Defence I was left Unsupervised
I know you are the world's unchallenged master at squeezing every last penny out of your utilities but still I am impressed.
cupid_stunt
Chief seagull hater & farmerbarleymow's nemesis.
I think gentlegreen is the true master, TBH.
Since moving here, I am back to heating to 18c, rather than the 16-17c I did when the energy crisis started, that was an interesting experiment, I was never that cold, but also not that comfortable, and wearing fingerless gloves was a bit extreme for me, TBH.
It's 40% smaller in this bungalow, so I can be more generous with the heating, without it costing me more.
MickiQ
In My Defence I was left Unsupervised
Well he's not totally human is he? he's been genetically modified to survive at low temperatures so not really a fair comparison.I think gentlegreen is the true master, TBH.
Since moving here, I am back to heating to 18c, rather than the 16-17c I did when the energy crisis started, that was an interesting experiment, I was never that cold, but also not that comfortable, and wearing fingerless gloves was a bit extreme for me, TBH.
It's 40% smaller in this bungalow, so I can be more generous with the heating, without it costing me more.
cupid_stunt
Chief seagull hater & farmerbarleymow's nemesis.
Looking back, it was an impressive experiment back in 2022/3, but having had a new boiler fitted there helped, probably around 20-25% of my gas savings were down to that, and the other 25-30% down to my energy saving measures, which also greatly reduced my electric use too.
What for?
I pay £65 for gas/electricity for a two bed flat. I'm in a lot (normally WFH) but don't have my heating on much.
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9 more days until I can switch to a new deal without paying the exit fee as I will be 49 days from the end of the fix. Don’t know if that is for a new provider or staying with octopus. Not sure if there’s any good offers about or if I should go on the variable.
£57 a month here for a one bedroom bungalow.
Turned the heating on recently and if my electric use stays at around what it's been since then, bills should still be coming in just under that. I'm a few hundred quid in credit anyway because of Ovo's ridiculous estimates when I first moved in
Need to look at whether it's worth moving to THTC (local rate for cheaper heating & hot water but more expensive everything else) over the winter but that option isn't coming up online and I only have the old prices I was quoted a few months back before the rates went up, so I'll have to phone about that.
Turned the heating on recently and if my electric use stays at around what it's been since then, bills should still be coming in just under that. I'm a few hundred quid in credit anyway because of Ovo's ridiculous estimates when I first moved in
Need to look at whether it's worth moving to THTC (local rate for cheaper heating & hot water but more expensive everything else) over the winter but that option isn't coming up online and I only have the old prices I was quoted a few months back before the rates went up, so I'll have to phone about that.
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
I live in the upstairs front room of a 6 room terraced house.
My monthly payment to Octopus is £71 and they're suggesting I reduce it to £64 ...
I somehow seem to be using more electricity than I used to - up from 2.5 to 3.5 kwh per day in spite of switching from bath to shower...
I have recently actually connected up most of my lighting in the house, and the landing and stairwell now has 5 lamps totalling about 42 watts - perhaps I should replace any 8 watt LED lamps that fail with 5 watt ones ... I even fitted three pendants in the newly-created downstairs hallway ..
I only use a torch at night as they're all far too bright.
Over the past year I have to add quite a lot of extra lighting used for the building work.
Since my heating is now gas, my focus will be there.
After two weeks, though I appreciate the more pleasant experience of a radiator versus a fan heater, I can't ignore the crazy amount of heat that's apparently being dumped in the pipework in a part of he house I don't want to heat - Octopus claim their electricity is from renewable sources so it's only transmission losses I'm saving...
But being a quarter of the price of electricity I'm reasonably hopeful I will keep the total cost under the approx £200 I spent last winter on electric heating...
My monthly payment to Octopus is £71 and they're suggesting I reduce it to £64 ...
I somehow seem to be using more electricity than I used to - up from 2.5 to 3.5 kwh per day in spite of switching from bath to shower...
I have recently actually connected up most of my lighting in the house, and the landing and stairwell now has 5 lamps totalling about 42 watts - perhaps I should replace any 8 watt LED lamps that fail with 5 watt ones ... I even fitted three pendants in the newly-created downstairs hallway ..
I only use a torch at night as they're all far too bright.
Over the past year I have to add quite a lot of extra lighting used for the building work.
Since my heating is now gas, my focus will be there.
After two weeks, though I appreciate the more pleasant experience of a radiator versus a fan heater, I can't ignore the crazy amount of heat that's apparently being dumped in the pipework in a part of he house I don't want to heat - Octopus claim their electricity is from renewable sources so it's only transmission losses I'm saving...
But being a quarter of the price of electricity I'm reasonably hopeful I will keep the total cost under the approx £200 I spent last winter on electric heating...
Chz
Stark Raving Sane
Electricity is just electrons, it all gets dumped on the grid and you feed off the grid. What a Green Energy guarantee means is that the company will specifically buy some renewable energy to throw on the grid to offset your usage. In practice, this is meaningless - wind energy is currently cheaper than gas and is preferentially put onto the grid anyhow. When we get into gas generation, wind, solar, biomass and nuclear have already been exhausted. Octopus pays "carbon offset" for this excess use, but the actual "greenness" of this is questionable, at best.
two sheds
Least noticed poster 2007
Which? recommended four suppliers as supplying renewable electricity including Octopus: It doesn't mention credits though (which are indeed somewhat of a scam):
www.which.co.uk
I see Ecotricity still claims it's unlike the others because it actually does supply the grid with renewable energy.
I've just moved from Ecotricity to Octopus because I thought they were renewables only, and only got a slight reduction in bills.
Differences between green energy suppliers - Which?
Energy companies take different approaches to selling renewable energy - find out which is best for you.
I see Ecotricity still claims it's unlike the others because it actually does supply the grid with renewable energy.
I've just moved from Ecotricity to Octopus because I thought they were renewables only, and only got a slight reduction in bills.
Chz
Stark Raving Sane
It's pretty much impossible to guarantee green energy to your house unless you actually install a wind turbine and solar panels. ISTR that the ASA was a bit dubious about allowing the claims the suppliers make, but it was argued that it was still putting money into renewables and that alone made it worth the fudging about it. Even Ecotricity, as a generator, can't promise that because it's not a direct line from their wind farm (or whatever) to your house. Add to that the fact that biomass burning is still considered "green" because it's renewable (even though it's shit for the environment) and you can pretty much ignore the green claims from anyone.Which? recommended four suppliers as supplying renewable electricity including Octopus: It doesn't mention credits though (which are indeed somewhat of a scam):
Differences between green energy suppliers - Which?
Energy companies take different approaches to selling renewable energy - find out which is best for you.
I see Ecotricity still claims it's unlike the others because it actually does supply the grid with renewable energy.
I've just moved from Ecotricity to Octopus because I thought they were renewables only, and only got a slight reduction in bills.
That's not to 100% knock it. In the early days, when renewables were still expensive, the additional money pumped into them by green energy tariffs absolutely mattered. But now that wind is the cheapest source of power, it's going to get investment no matter what. The problem is not with the energy generators, it's with the government and their strict controls on where wind farms can go.
two sheds
Least noticed poster 2007
and profits going elsewhere than communities and feeding back to build more renewables.
Presumably Ecotricity commits to generate the same amount that it supplies to customers. But indeed even that's fuzzy because it'll be supplying above and below those amounts at different times.
Presumably Ecotricity commits to generate the same amount that it supplies to customers. But indeed even that's fuzzy because it'll be supplying above and below those amounts at different times.
It’s the day when I can switch for free (49 days before the end of my fixed deal)
Think I will continue with octopus - they seem to be about at the same price as everyone. The unit price is lower (around 20% lower for electricity, 15% for gas). It seems the standing charge has gone up by the same proportions too but if it’s a cold winter (heating has barely been on so far) then I’ll be glad for cheaper heating costs.
There doesn’t seem much point in switching with prices so similar. They are in my experience at least a fairly easy company to deal with. Plus the free Greggs coffee each week is handy. I probably wouldn’t buy a coffee when out so it’s a bonus rather than a genuine discount.
Think I will continue with octopus - they seem to be about at the same price as everyone. The unit price is lower (around 20% lower for electricity, 15% for gas). It seems the standing charge has gone up by the same proportions too but if it’s a cold winter (heating has barely been on so far) then I’ll be glad for cheaper heating costs.
There doesn’t seem much point in switching with prices so similar. They are in my experience at least a fairly easy company to deal with. Plus the free Greggs coffee each week is handy. I probably wouldn’t buy a coffee when out so it’s a bonus rather than a genuine discount.
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
I think they know better than to offer me that ...
You need a smart meter to access Octoplus which is where the free coffees can be found
I find Greggs to be passable coffee when out and about, they also offer cafe Nero but there isn’t one of those where i live
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
sadly I have access to both of those where I live ...
Yesterday I idly looked on Google at the University Campus I retired from 4 years ago and learned they now have a Greggs as well as Starbucks and Costa and Subway ... and the Union supermarket is now Morrisons ...
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LakieLady
Well-Known Member
Funnily enough, I've just renewed with Octopus, after wasting an hour of my life working what my annual consumption was and getting a comparison with Go Compare which showed Octopus was only about £2 a year more than the cheapest.
The Octopus quote came out at £96 a month, up from £80, but I'm in credit to the tune of £72 at the moment so they're happy for me to pay £90.
(Those figures are for a small 2-bed semi-detached house, with only me in it but working from home most of the time. I hate being cold, and feel cold at anything less than about 21C!)
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