What are agile electricity tariffs?
Some companies are now shaking up the industry by adopting what is called “agile”, “flexible” or time of use tariffs.
With the introduction of smart meters, it’s now possible to tell how much energy you use in each half-hour period. Using this information the energy supplier is able to match your usage to the market prices in each half-hour. If the wholesale price drops, the electricity supplier will pass these lower prices on to their customers. This helps both the supplier and the customer.
If there is lots of spare generation available then the price could drop dramatically, meaning potentially far cheaper prices for those on these tariff agreements. This is particularly advantageous for electric vehicle owners who will typically charge their vehicles overnight and during off-peak periods. The prices may even go negative, meaning that there are instances when customers would actually be paid to use energy.
Take care though – the cost of electricity can also go up just as dramatically, catching you out if you are not watching the price carefully or use an automatic scheduling tool such as the myenergi account to keep an eye on the prices for you
Octopus Agile tariffs are the ultimate in time of use tariffs or ‘flexible tariffs’, adopted by Octopus Energy where the price of energy is different in every half-hour period. Find out more about Octopus Agile time of use tariffs on their website.