Octopus Agile without extreme automation

Using the Octopus Compare app, I noticed that Agile has been beating Cosy for our usage profile. This has been the case since March, despite our usage being tailored to the Cosy tariff.

I have switched to the Agile tariff and we have made some minor changes to our usage to, potentially, save even more.

Points to note:

  • The cap on Agile is technically 100p per kWh but, in practice Octopus have been capping it at 32p. This should not be a problem as long as we keep an eye on the rates.
  • The switch to Agile was initiated on a Web page and happened very quickly (less than 24 hours, and retrospective to midnight on the day the email was received).
  • Octopus allow you to switch frequently, but impose a 28 day limit on frequency (which seems very reasonable).
  • Agile would be cheaper than Cosy even if we don't change our usage.
  • Right now, Agile has long periods well below 32p. Cosy had only two 3-hour periods. Cosy sits at 32p for long periods, Agile (for now, anyway) spends a lot of time below 32p.
  • In theory, the lowest possible average price can only be reached using a high level of automation. In practice, it should be possible to reach a decent level with minimal effort. The average on Cosy, albeit only with one-month's data, was 24.11p (25.31 with VAT).
  • The only change to our usage that we have made so far is to put on the washing machine and dishwasher timers a bit earlier than we would have done on Cosy.

Even if we don't save money, this will be an interesting experiment.

How Agile gradually overtook Cosy

Note: We are NOT on Agile Export. We are still on Octopus Outgoing Fixed 12M at 15p.

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