Frequently asked questions about Octopus Tracker

Prices for Tracker are made up of a daily unit rate (the price you pay for every unit of energy you use) and a daily standing charge.

The formula to calculate the unit rate (in p/kWh) from the wholesale price W (in p/kWh for electricity and p/therm for gas) varies by region, reflecting differences in what we are charged for supplying electricity and gas to different parts of the country. If this formula is changed, we'll give you reasonable notice.

For electricity, the wholesale price W, is the baseload average price (in p/kWh) from the previous day's N2EX GB Day-Ahead auction. For gas, the W is the day ahead or weekend price in p/therm on the previous working day from Marex Spectron.

In the event these prices are not available we reserve the right to use an alternative source of market data or take the previous available price. If we do not receive pricing data before 22:00 the day before consumption, we will continue to use the most recently received pricing data we have available to us.

East England

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.2012) + 10.8298 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.3622 p per kWh

East Midlands

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.1890) + 9.6678 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.3617 p per kWh

London

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.1913) + 10.9309 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.6663 p per kWh

Merseyside & Northern Wales

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.2166) + 11.0004 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.6990 p per kWh

West Midlands

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.1824) + 9.5890 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.4435 p per kWh

North England

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.1857) + 9.4327 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.4960 p per kWh

North West England

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.2012) + 10.8046 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.4449 p per kWh

South England

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.1846) + 10.2928 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.5478 p per kWh

South East England

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.1901) + 10.8979 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.4474 p per kWh

South Wales

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.1835) + 10.2400 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.7307 p per kWh

South West England

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.1835) + 10.1597 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.8260 p per kWh

Yorkshire

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.2012) + 9.2307 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.5878 p per kWh

South Scotland

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.1979) + 9.7661 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.4449 p per kWh

North Scotland

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.1990) + 11.1874 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.4449 p per kWh

East England

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.2012) + 10.3059 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.3167 p per kWh

East Midlands

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.1890) + 9.1977 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.3162 p per kWh

London

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.1913) + 10.5046 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.5674 p per kWh

Merseyside & Northern Wales

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.2166) + 10.4310 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.6212 p per kWh

West Midlands

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.1824) + 9.1159 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.3778 p per kWh

North England

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.1857) + 9.0527 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.4353 p per kWh

North West England

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.2012) + 10.0928 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.4125 p per kWh

South England

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.1846) + 9.7767 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.4978 p per kWh

South East England

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.1901) + 10.3815 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.4025 p per kWh

South Wales

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.1835) + 9.7306 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.6518 p per kWh

South West England

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.1835) + 9.6533 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.7396 p per kWh

Yorkshire

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.2012) + 8.7472 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.5231 p per kWh

South Scotland

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.1979) + 9.2438 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.3959 p per kWh

North Scotland

Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.1990) + 10.5180 p per kWh

Gas unit charge: (W * 0.03604) + 1.3959 p per kWh

When you sign up to Tracker, the formula we use to calculate Tracker prices and the daily standing charge will remain the same over a 12 month period. The daily unit rates will vary as they follow the wholesale price of energy.

When it comes time to renew, you will need to sign up again for another 12 months to stay on the tariff. This will be on the latest version of the tariff. There are no exit fees if you decide to leave Tracker.

Octopus Tracker was created to closely reflect the true cost of energy. The daily unit price reflects wholesale prices more accurately than nearly any other tariff in the country, but there are other important components in an energy bill apart from just the wholesale cost.

We review the Tracker formula and standing charge every three months, each time the energy price cap updates, to make sure Tracker prices fairly reflect things like taxes and levies, network maintenance and meter rental, as well as energy regulation.

Customers will always join or renew onto the latest Tracker formula.

How does the price cap work?

Every three months, the UK’s energy regulator updates their energy price cap which sets out the maximum rates a supplier can charge. The cap is based on a suppliers’ real cost to supply energy, including wholesale costs, taxes and levies, and a whole host of other costs like network maintenance and meter rental.

This is why we will continue reviewing Tracker’s formula frequently (every 3 months) to ensure it reflects the true costs of energy.

Tracker’s standing charge is the same as all other Octopus tariffs.

Our standing charge is still the lowest of any large provider, 4% below the energy price cap as part of our stand against prohibitively high standing charges. Read more about standing charges.

There is no exit fee for leaving Tracker, but after leaving, you can’t rejoin the tariff for another 9 months.

You need to…

1. Already be an Octopus Energy customer. If you're not a customer yet, you can switch online with just a few taps here.
2. Have smart meters that send us regular readings. If you don't have a smart meter yet, we can install one for you at no extra cost. Register your interest here.
3. Head to our Tracker homepage to start your tariff switch and find out more information.

When we calculate your bill, we try to use your actual consumption for each day from your smart meter, in order to get a correctly weighted average price for the billing period.

If this isn't possible (for example, if we are missing some consumption data), we will use your total consumption over the billing period, and allocate it to days based on industry coefficients that reflect actual weather.

We are unlikely to be able to recalculate your bill, even if we later receive your actual consumption data, as re-billing is just as likely to increase charges for a customer as reduce them, and time-consuming, when our priority is on minimising the cost of this tariff, and makes bills harder to comprehend and follow for customers.

You will be able to see the price for the current day on the Octopus website or app.

Some 3rd party websites and apps report current and historical Tracker prices, for example https://energy-stats.uk/dashboards/ and https://gastracker.uk/.

We currently require anyone switching to Tracker to have a working smart meter. Unlike with other other smart tariffs, if your smart meter stops sending readings, you won't be forced to switch to another tariff, as we are able to bill based on monthly meter readings.

If you don't have a smart meter yet, we can install one at no extra cost, but you'll need to stick with a standard tariff, such as Flexible Octopus, until your smart meter is installed and running properly (this usually takes a few weeks – but some homes can take much longer).

If your smart meter currently operates in Eco7 mode, we will need to reconfigure it to use a single register in order for you to go onto Tracker for electricity. This is usually possible without a site visit, but may take around 4 weeks to process. Please email hello@octopus.energy and we can get this sorted.

If you find that Tracker isn't right for you, you can change tariffs at any time in your account under ‘change my tariff’. You can also email hello@octopus.energy and we will move you to one of our other tariffs. This can take up to two weeks to be processed.

Switching to another supplier will take their usual time. There are no exit fees on Tracker. After leaving, you'll need to wait 9 months before switching back to Tracker, because switching back and forth between Tracker and more typical tariffs (that require us to buy wholesale energy in advance) is costly.

Tracker is designed to reflect the wholesale market. In the long run, trackers are usually cheaper than hedged products (hedging is not free, and consumers generally pay the price in the long run).

However, you are exposed to increases in wholesale prices, up to a maximum daily unit rate of 100p/kWh for electricity and 30p/kWh for gas- keep in mind that's a lot higher than the Ofgem Energy Price Cap, so if you can't afford prices to increase further, you're probably better off sticking with a protected tariff such as Flexible Octopus. If this cap is changed, we'll give you reasonable notice.

Over the warmer months, prices tend to be lower, and we expect them to increase – likely double – when the heating comes on and the sun starts setting earlier.

No, if you ever want to come off the Octopus Tracker, just email hello@octopus.energy and we will move you to one of our other tariffs. This won't be instant – it may take up to two weeks to be processed.

Bear in mind though – if you want to switch back to Tracker at a later date, you'll need to wait at least 9 months before doing so.

When you sign up to the Octopus Tracker we estimate what your annual cost will be, divide it by 12, and set your direct debit to that figure. We review regularly so that if your consumption or energy prices are different from the estimate we’ll adjust your payments to avoid excess credit or debit.

No – but the fact that you (or anyone else) can choose to look at it at any time means you can be certain that what we’re saying is verifiable. We do think it’s helpful to get a feel for a “normal” price – a bit like with petrol – so we expect many people will have a quick glance at the price quite frequently.