I have an Economy 7 tariff with Octopus Energy. I also have an export tariff.
Octopus insist that the off peak hours are 0030-0730, but my meter changes to off peak at 0140-0840 now we are on BST. When not on BST it is 0040-0740.
Because we have solar and batteries, we use very little peak rate electricity, but I want accurate times the off peak rate starts and finishes.
Octopus refuses to believe the hours I mentioned and say that I am only billed between the hours they tell me.
Does anyone know if BST should make a difference to off peak times and what I can do to get the times corrected?
BTW my IHD is showing the wrong tariff rates now that they have changed today, 1st April. Octopus tell me not to believe the IHD as they are frequently wrong!!
Does the meter show a clock/date, and is it correct or wrong?
Yes the Smart meter (Landis & Gyr) is showing the correct date and time.
See a photo of the IHD showing the off peak rate at 0818 this morning. According to Octopus that should have changed to the peak rate at 0730. The tariff is also showing the "old" rate not the lower one that came into force today.
The actual Smart meter is showing the wrong tariff as well. From today it should be 28.89p/kWh not 32.39p/kWh
The actual Smart meter is showing the wrong tariff as well. From today it should be 28.89p/kWh not 32.39p/kWh
Attachments:
Well the good news is you are documenting this!
I am not sure if this will correct itself in billing, this happens with IOG values appear as peak rate, and then get adjusted in 1-2 days down to the correct Peak/off-peak values.
I am not sure if this will correct itself in billing, this happens with IOG values appear as peak rate, and then get adjusted in 1-2 days down to the correct Peak/off-peak values.
I too am on Economy 7 with Octopus, and have been for seven months or so.
When I first set it up, I specifically asked Octopus several times was the quoted time of 00:30 - 07:30 LOCAL time. Yes they said.
However, the reality has become obvious that it is GMT. I did also find some Octopus documentation buried somewhere confirming that (--> https://octopus.energy/help-and-faqs/ar ... installed/).
I complained and was told something to the effect that "the smart meter doesn't know the clocks have changed", which is clearly untrue. I was however given some compensation.
It would seem that the people who staff the phones / emails don't really understand what they are talking about.
I have set our forced charge to local time 01:30-07:30. This way it stays within 00:30-07:30 GMT without me having to fiddle around twice a year.
When I first set it up, I specifically asked Octopus several times was the quoted time of 00:30 - 07:30 LOCAL time. Yes they said.
However, the reality has become obvious that it is GMT. I did also find some Octopus documentation buried somewhere confirming that (--> https://octopus.energy/help-and-faqs/ar ... installed/).
I complained and was told something to the effect that "the smart meter doesn't know the clocks have changed", which is clearly untrue. I was however given some compensation.
It would seem that the people who staff the phones / emails don't really understand what they are talking about.
I have set our forced charge to local time 01:30-07:30. This way it stays within 00:30-07:30 GMT without me having to fiddle around twice a year.
Thanks for the reply and the link to the Octopus FAQ. I haven't seen that before, so Economy 7 should be 0030-0730 in the winter and 0130-0830 on BST?
I have actually watched the Smart meter (not the IHD) change rates from off peak to peak and in my case it is 0140-0840 on BST. It is such an odd time that setting various appliances to come on within the off peak time is diificult. Many timed appliances only work in half hours. So either I miss out on maximum useage of the Economy 7 times or pay for a little bit of peak rate time.
Octopus have asked me to send them photos of the meter when the rate changes. I will post back here if they answer my questions. Octopus insist that it always 0030-0730 and even go on to say that the IHD is displaying the wrong information.
I contacted the technical team who make the Trio 2 IHD and they say that is rubbish, the IHD only displays what is sent from the Smart meter.
I have actually watched the Smart meter (not the IHD) change rates from off peak to peak and in my case it is 0140-0840 on BST. It is such an odd time that setting various appliances to come on within the off peak time is diificult. Many timed appliances only work in half hours. So either I miss out on maximum useage of the Economy 7 times or pay for a little bit of peak rate time.
Octopus have asked me to send them photos of the meter when the rate changes. I will post back here if they answer my questions. Octopus insist that it always 0030-0730 and even go on to say that the IHD is displaying the wrong information.
I contacted the technical team who make the Trio 2 IHD and they say that is rubbish, the IHD only displays what is sent from the Smart meter.
Yes, 00:30-07:30 in the winter and 01:30-08:30 BST in the summer.
I have no idea about the odd 10 minute offset.
You could try downloading the half hourly data from Octopus, that may give a little more information.
I have no idea about the odd 10 minute offset.
You could try downloading the half hourly data from Octopus, that may give a little more information.
This I recorded this morning, showing the changeover from Off Peak to Peak rate at 0840. I am waiting to see if Octopus can explain why the offset is there. I am not sure if makes much difference to the billing?
BTW the meter is still showing the old tariff, not the rate it should have been since yesterday.
BTW the meter is still showing the old tariff, not the rate it should have been since yesterday.
Attachments:
From my understanding, the clock and tariff should have been updated by now. Suspect given your 10 min clock drift that they need to push this from their end.
Chase Octopus about doing this and see what they say.
Chase Octopus about doing this and see what they say.
I am still waiting to hear back from Octopus Energy.
Just as an example, I have calculated if I had a 7kW load to start at 0130 every night, the 10 minute offset would cost me about £128 a year. I know that is an extreme example as I don't think I would draw 7kW every night, but it could add up over time.
Just as an example, I have calculated if I had a 7kW load to start at 0130 every night, the 10 minute offset would cost me about £128 a year. I know that is an extreme example as I don't think I would draw 7kW every night, but it could add up over time.
I agree with your maths on that, and a potential £128 for something that is not your fault would leave a bad taste in my mouth.
Hopefully you get this resolved soon.
Hopefully you get this resolved soon.
Can I ask anyone who reads this thread and has a timed tariff to check if this offset is a general issue?
I have seen no evidence of any timing offset affecting my Peak / Off-peak times.
So your Smart Meter changes from Rate 1 to Rate 2 at exactly 0830 in the morning?
No, I don't know exactly what time it rolls over. To be honest, I'm not overly inclined to move the shoe rack, and crawl into the cupboard under the stairs to watch it at 08:30 - sorry!
For our house, not much tends to change at 08:30, but at 01:30 it does. The battery forced charge and underfloor heating kicks in at 01:30. Our energy usage goes up about 200x from a few minutes earlier. I have reviewed our half hourly usage data downloaded from Octopus, and I can see no evidence of any "bleed" across to the earlier time slot.
For our house, not much tends to change at 08:30, but at 01:30 it does. The battery forced charge and underfloor heating kicks in at 01:30. Our energy usage goes up about 200x from a few minutes earlier. I have reviewed our half hourly usage data downloaded from Octopus, and I can see no evidence of any "bleed" across to the earlier time slot.
OK, I didn't want you to do anything difficult, the IHD should also tell you when the tariff changes in the morning.
I would still like to know if anyone else has noticed that the peak rate doesn't occur as per the Octopus quoted times?
I would still like to know if anyone else has noticed that the peak rate doesn't occur as per the Octopus quoted times?