I see that former Bulb customers will be transferred to Octopus

From The Octopus FAQ

All the time Bulb’s been under special administration, the government
has had to buy gas and electricity for Bulb’s 1.5 million customers,
without hedging, in an energy crisis.

Octopus is paying the government to take on Bulb’s customer base –
believed to be more per customer than any supplier paid in taking on the
29 failed suppliers since September 2021.

In addition, taxpayers will benefit from a profit-share agreement for a
period of up to 4 years, reducing the overall cost to UK taxpayers.

Octopus is paying the government a nine digit sum and in addition will
be paying a high proportion of any profits made through Bulb. The total
amount Octopus is paying will be in the hundreds of millions of pounds.

https://octopus.energy/bulb/

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alan_m wrote:

> Octopus is paying the government to take on Bulb’s customer base

They've changed their tune then, not long ago they were demanding to *be* paid
by the govt to take them on ...

On 30/10/2022 17:06, alan_m wrote:
>
> I see that former Bulb customers will be transferred to Octopus
>
> From The Octopus FAQ
>
> All the time Bulb’s been under special administration, the government
> has had to buy gas and electricity for Bulb’s 1.5 million customers,
> without hedging, in an energy crisis.
>

??

>
> In addition, taxpayers will benefit from a profit-share agreement for a
> period of up to 4 years, reducing the overall cost to UK taxpayers.
>

Which will still be significant.

> Octopus is paying the government a nine digit sum and in addition will
> be paying a high proportion of any profits made through Bulb. The total
> amount Octopus is paying will be in the hundreds of millions of pounds.
>
>
> https://octopus.energy/bulb/
>

Pigs might fly too.

On Sunday, 30 October 2022 at 18:33:20 UTC, Andrew wrote:
> Pigs might fly too.

Bulb were the company *literally* advertising with unicorns.

On 30/10/2022 10:10, Andy Burns wrote:
> alan_m wrote:
>
>> Octopus is paying the government to take on Bulb’s customer base
>
> They've changed their tune then, not long ago they were demanding to
> *be* paid by the govt to take them on ...

As Octopus actually own green generating capacity I wonder if a another
deal has been done with regard tax breaks or subsidies etc. for building
more windmills and solar?

--
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On 30/10/2022 17:06, alan_m wrote:
>
> I see that former Bulb customers will be transferred to Octopus
>
> From The Octopus FAQ
>
> All the time Bulb’s been under special administration, the government
> has had to buy gas and electricity for Bulb’s 1.5 million customers,
> without hedging, in an energy crisis.
>
> Octopus is paying the government to take on Bulb’s customer base –
> believed to be more per customer than any supplier paid in taking on the
> 29 failed suppliers since September 2021.
>
> In addition, taxpayers will benefit from a profit-share agreement for a
> period of up to 4 years, reducing the overall cost to UK taxpayers.
>
> Octopus is paying the government a nine digit sum and in addition will
> be paying a high proportion of any profits made through Bulb. The total
> amount Octopus is paying will be in the hundreds of millions of pounds.
>
>
> https://octopus.energy/bulb/
>
I have always found Bulb a disaster. Who is a good company to switch to?

On Sun, 30 Oct 2022 23:02:05 +0000, Pancho wrote:

> On 30/10/2022 17:06, alan_m wrote:
>>
>> I see that former Bulb customers will be transferred to Octopus
>>
>> From The Octopus FAQ
>>
>> All the time Bulb’s been under special administration, the government
>> has had to buy gas and electricity for Bulb’s 1.5 million customers,
>> without hedging, in an energy crisis.
>>
>> Octopus is paying the government to take on Bulb’s customer base –
>> believed to be more per customer than any supplier paid in taking on
>> the 29 failed suppliers since September 2021.
>>
>> In addition, taxpayers will benefit from a profit-share agreement for a
>> period of up to 4 years, reducing the overall cost to UK taxpayers.
>>
>> Octopus is paying the government a nine digit sum and in addition will
>> be paying a high proportion of any profits made through Bulb. The total
>> amount Octopus is paying will be in the hundreds of millions of pounds.
>>
>>
>> https://octopus.energy/bulb/
>>
> I have always found Bulb a disaster. Who is a good company to switch to?

Been very satisfied with So Energy.

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Pancho wrote:

> Who is a good company to switch to?

If you're on a variable price-cap tariff, at the moment likely nobody.

Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:
> Pancho wrote:
>
>> Who is a good company to switch to?
>
> If you're on a variable price-cap tariff, at the moment likely nobody.
>
>

True unless you have an EV in which case it’s well worth looking at
companies that offer good off-peak discounts. (Eg.Octopus).

I think Octopus are “a good company” who are thinking hard about better
ways to manage the grid and domestic power supplies. I do think their
customer service has suffered a bit due to their rapid expansion but then
I’ve not been with anyone else for quite some time so the others could be
equally poor. ;-)

Tim

--
Please don't feed the trolls

Kind of asks the question then, if they can afford that, what the heck did
bulb do to make such a mess of their finances, and it also shows that there
has to be a lot of spare money sloshing around in energy suppliers coughers
that an enterprising Government ought to be able to have to ease things at
least in the short term.
Brian

--

--:
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Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"alan_m" <junk@admac.myzen.co.uk> wrote in message
news:js7p8pFl7b8U1@mid.individual.net...
>
> I see that former Bulb customers will be transferred to Octopus
>
> From The Octopus FAQ
>
> All the time Bulb's been under special administration, the government has
> had to buy gas and electricity for Bulb's 1.5 million customers, without
> hedging, in an energy crisis.
>
> Octopus is paying the government to take on Bulb's customer base -
> believed to be more per customer than any supplier paid in taking on the
> 29 failed suppliers since September 2021.
>
> In addition, taxpayers will benefit from a profit-share agreement for a
> period of up to 4 years, reducing the overall cost to UK taxpayers.
>
> Octopus is paying the government a nine digit sum and in addition will be
> paying a high proportion of any profits made through Bulb. The total
> amount Octopus is paying will be in the hundreds of millions of pounds.
>
>
> https://octopus.energy/bulb/
>
> --
> mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On 30/10/2022 23:55, Andy Burns wrote:
> Pancho wrote:
>
>> Who is a good company to switch to?
>
> If you're on a variable price-cap tariff, at the moment likely nobody.
>

The problem with Bulb is the management of my account, not the price.

The messed up my initial transfer in.

My electricity smart meter worked for 6 months, but then stopped
reporting and has been defective for 18 months. The gas smart meter
still works, presumably via the electricity meter. So probably a config
issue at their end.

Last month, for an unknown reason, they tripled my expected gas usage
(kWH), setting the expected yearly usage to more gas than I have
actually used in the previous 3 years I have been with them.

The monthly direct debit is now far too high for genuine estimates based
upon previous year's usage.

They said they would refund most of the excess credit on my account, and
then later changed their mind as they said they needed electricity meter
readings.

They lied to me on the phone, saying I wouldn't lose anything by having
a large credit balance. There is clearly lost interest and credit risk.
I'm effectively being forced to give them a free loan.

On 31/10/2022 09:08, Brian Gaff wrote:
> Kind of asks the question then, if they can afford that, what the heck did
> bulb do to make such a mess of their finances, and it also shows that there
> has to be a lot of spare money sloshing around in energy suppliers coughers
> that an enterprising Government ought to be able to have to ease things at
> least in the short term.
> Brian
>

The problem was they didn't hedge wholesale energy prices. They were
locked into providing energy to customers at a given price, but were
exposed to a rise in wholesale energy prices.

Very similar to the issue with Northern Rock, in the credit crunch.

The regulators really should employ people who understand financial risk
management.

Tim+ wrote:

> Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:
>> Pancho wrote:
>>
>>> Who is a good company to switch to?
>>
>> If you're on a variable price-cap tariff, at the moment likely nobody.
>>
>>
>
> True unless you have an EV in which case it’s well worth looking at
> companies that offer good off-peak discounts. (Eg.Octopus).

Haven't they closed their agile and tracker tariffs to new customers? You may
get four hours cheap electricity overnight, but they've raised day rates to 50p/kWh.

> I think Octopus are “a good company” who are thinking hard about better
> ways to manage the grid and domestic power supplies. I do think their
> customer service has suffered a bit due to their rapid expansion but then
> I’ve not been with anyone else for quite some time so the others could be
> equally poor. ;-)

The wholesale "market" seems poorly designed really, if company A bids Xp/unit
in advance for a time period, and company B bids Yp/unit for the same period,
then when the time comes company C sells the last final lot of units to fulfil
demand at Zp/unit, the way I understand it A, B and C all get paid at Zp/unit,
is that correct?

Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:
> Tim+ wrote:
>
>> Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:
>>> Pancho wrote:
>>>
>>>> Who is a good company to switch to?
>>>
>>> If you're on a variable price-cap tariff, at the moment likely nobody.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> True unless you have an EV in which case it’s well worth looking at
>> companies that offer good off-peak discounts. (Eg.Octopus).
>
> Haven't they closed their agile and tracker tariffs to new customers? You may
> get four hours cheap electricity overnight, but they've raised day rates to 50p/kWh.

They’ve reopened them I believe (at higher rates obviously). They’re also
making their “Intelligent” tariff more accessible to more vehicles. My Kia
is now included in the list. Previously I could only have joined this
tariff with an Ohme charger (which I don’t have).

I think supplier controlled charging is the future and we will all be on
this sooner or later but I’m currently better off sticking to my existing
Go tariff.

>> I think Octopus are “a good company” who are thinking hard about better
>> ways to manage the grid and domestic power supplies. I do think their
>> customer service has suffered a bit due to their rapid expansion but then
>> I’ve not been with anyone else for quite some time so the others could be
>> equally poor. ;-)
>
> The wholesale "market" seems poorly designed really, if company A bids Xp/unit
> in advance for a time period, and company B bids Yp/unit for the same period,
> then when the time comes company C sells the last final lot of units to fulfil
> demand at Zp/unit, the way I understand it A, B and C all get paid at Zp/unit,
> is that correct?

I have no idea.

Tim

--
Please don't feed the trolls

On 31/10/2022 08:41, Tim+ wrote:
> Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:
>> Pancho wrote:
>>
>>> Who is a good company to switch to?
>>
>> If you're on a variable price-cap tariff, at the moment likely nobody.
>>
>>
>
> True unless you have an EV in which case it’s well worth looking at
> companies that offer good off-peak discounts. (Eg.Octopus).
>
> I think Octopus are “a good company” who are thinking hard about better
> ways to manage the grid and domestic power supplies. I do think their
> customer service has suffered a bit due to their rapid expansion but then
> I’ve not been with anyone else for quite some time so the others could be
> equally poor. ;-)

They employed the service staff from Avro and I believe that they are
going to do the same with the Bulb service staff.

I'm ex Avro and Octopus do seem to be competent although as stated above
the customer service can be very slow despite their claim of responses
in hours. It took around 6 weeks and 4 emails for my smart meter to be
updated with the correct tariff information. The October tariff changes
were correctly applied within hours.

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On 30/10/2022 23:02, Pancho wrote:
> On 30/10/2022 17:06, alan_m wrote:
>>
>> I see that former Bulb customers will be transferred to Octopus
>>
>>  From The Octopus FAQ
>>
>> All the time Bulb’s been under special administration, the government
>> has had to buy gas and electricity for Bulb’s 1.5 million customers,
>> without hedging, in an energy crisis.
>>
>> Octopus is paying the government to take on Bulb’s customer base –
>> believed to be more per customer than any supplier paid in taking on
>> the 29 failed suppliers since September 2021.
>>
>> In addition, taxpayers will benefit from a profit-share agreement for
>> a period of up to 4 years, reducing the overall cost to UK taxpayers.
>>
>> Octopus is paying the government a nine digit sum and in addition will
>> be paying a high proportion of any profits made through Bulb. The
>> total amount Octopus is paying will be in the hundreds of millions of
>> pounds.
>>
>>
>> https://octopus.energy/bulb/
>>
> I have always found Bulb a disaster. Who is a good company to switch to?

At least wait until you have been transferred. I was moved over from
Avro to an Octopus contract/tariff with no penalty fees for changing
suppliers at a later date.

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

Tim+ wrote:

>Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:
>> Tim+ wrote:

>>> True unless you have an EV in which case it’s well worth looking at
>>> companies that offer good off-peak discounts. (Eg.Octopus).
>>
>> Haven't they closed their agile and tracker tariffs to new customers? You may
>> get four hours cheap electricity overnight, but they've raised day rates to 50p/kWh.

>>> I think Octopus are “a good company” who are thinking hard about better
>>> ways to manage the grid and domestic power supplies. I do think their
>>> customer service has suffered a bit due to their rapid expansion but then
>>> I’ve not been with anyone else for quite some time so the others could be
>>> equally poor. ;-)

I have been with Octopus since Avro failed, and they do seem to
be pretty competent.

I've just got my first bill with the new rates, and it took a bit
of understanding. Instead of simply showing what they are now
charging, they have lines reading, for instance:

Energy Used (Day) 228.8 kWh @ 61.13p/kWh £139.84
Energy Price Guarantee 228.8 kWh @ 21.98p/kWh -£50.28

If you want to know the actual rate charged, you need to do the
subtraction, and then add VAT.

I was surprised to find that my E7 night rate has actually
fallen, back to around what I was paying last February, which is
good news for EV charging.

When I checked at
<https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-price-guarantee-regional-rates>

it explained:
"Note that for customers on multi-register tariffs such as
Economy 7, suppliers have flexibility to apply slightly different
discounts to the individual rates within the tariff, helping to
balance-out the reduction of more expensive day rates with
cheaper night-time electricity rates. Each supplier will approach
this differently."

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK
chris@cdixon.me.uk @ChrisJDixon1

Plant amazing Acers.

On Fri, 04 Nov 2022 14:07:42 +0000, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk>
wrote:

>I have been with Octopus since Avro failed, and they do seem to
>be pretty competent.
>
>I've just got my first bill with the new rates, and it took a bit
>of understanding. Instead of simply showing what they are now
>charging, they have lines reading, for instance:
>
>Energy Used (Day) 228.8 kWh @ 61.13p/kWh £139.84
>Energy Price Guarantee 228.8 kWh @ 21.98p/kWh -£50.28
>
>If you want to know the actual rate charged, you need to do the
>subtraction, and then add VAT.
>
>I was surprised to find that my E7 night rate has actually
>fallen, back to around what I was paying last February, which is
>good news for EV charging.
>
>When I checked at
><https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-price-guarantee-regional-rates>
>
>it explained:
>"Note that for customers on multi-register tariffs such as
>Economy 7, suppliers have flexibility to apply slightly different
>discounts to the individual rates within the tariff, helping to
>balance-out the reduction of more expensive day rates with
>cheaper night-time electricity rates. Each supplier will approach
>this differently."
>
>Chris

Yes. I'm with EDF and was surprised to note that my night rate has
fallen from (the price set in April) 18.32p to 15.58p. These prices
include VAT.

My 2 year fixed day rate of 18.46p expires at the end of March, and I
shudder to think what it will rise to then.