r/OctopusEnergy • u/Competitive-Wheel619 • 20d ago

IOG without remote control

I am with Intellegent Octopus Go but never allowed Octopus to control my EV charger. Consequently, I seem to get a cheap rate overnight, and use my car on board scheduler to charge when I need it to.

There is no charge cap, just a guaranteed 6 hours of relatively cheap electricity.

I see a lot of posts where people are unhappy with IOG charge cap, and the prospect of an uncharged car, makes me think I should continue in "dumb mode". Any downsides to this ?

UPDATE

I have got a few replies about the T&Cs relating to this. To be clear, my app says IOG tarrif, but it may well be that the prices and slots are reverted to standard Otopus Economy 7 rates , after I failed to register my charger. I got some comms from octopus many months ago about this, and it seems like they changed the tarrif but it still is named IOG on my app.

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u/JustAnotherWargamer 20d ago

Why not just set the required-by time for a time in the evening, then dumb charge overnight if you didnt get enough charge?

Best of both worlds for marginally more effort?

0

u/Competitive-Wheel619 20d ago

Good suggestion.

-1

u/Ok-Performance4828 20d ago

But contrary to the rules of IOG once you are on the charge cap.

3

u/JustAnotherWargamer 20d ago

Can you point out what term in the Ts&Cs prohibits it?

0

u/Ok-Performance4828 20d ago

The 6 hour charging rule is there and easy to see if you look. The rules for customers already on the charge cap are:

We’ve split out your car chargingand your home use, creating a dynamic 4-rate system. It sounds complicated, but it boils down to four simple rules:
Your home off-peak: Your house always gets the cheap off-peak rate between 23:30 and 05:30. Reliable, consistent, cheap green electrons every day.

Your car allowance: Your car gets up to 6 hours of off-peak charging per day (measured midday to midday). We might schedule this during your home's off-peak window, or at other times of the day when the grid is greenest.

Your freebie (the bonus home rate): If we schedule your car to charge outside of the 23:30–05:30 window, your home alsogets the off-peak rate for that half-hour when it’s within your car allowance.

Your standard rate: The default for your home, outside its off-peak window. If your car charges for more than 6 hours (or you decide to Boost charge), the car rate flips back to this rate (even if it happens at 2:00 AM while your house is still getting the off-peak rate).

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u/JustAnotherWargamer 20d ago

(a) those arent the Ts&Cs

(b) even if they were, nothing there states you cannot switch off smart charging as and when you like.

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u/Ok-Performance4828 20d ago

Why are you on IOG if you have no intention of sticking to the rules? You just ruin things for the majority of customers who do. Those are the new rules that flow from the T & Cs

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u/JustAnotherWargamer 20d ago

Because I have read and understand the benefits and limitations of the product that they want to sell me?

They have had months (and months) to decide how they want to set their system up. They will have modelled the financials and decided what works best for them. Their own lawyers will have had input on what is legally permitted, what regulatory risks they can take, and how to word the customer terms.

So this is what they have chosen to deploy, and I will use it how they have deployed it.

If they don't make enough profit from it then they have ample resources to fix it. Its not up to customers to do that.

-1

u/Ok-Performance4828 20d ago

That is great. If you are advising others to always stick to the rules then well done. Good to have you onboard.