Avro Energy customers moved to Octopus Energy: what are your tariffs in 2022?

What are Octopus Energy’s tariffs?

Octopus Energy’s variable rate tariffs

Variable tariff deals involve rates that change with the current energy market prices. Depending on the variable rate deal you subscribe to with Octopus Energy, these price variations can be more or less frequent. The Octopus Tracker plan varies daily, for instance.

Octopus Energy’s fixed rate tariffs

Fixed rate tariffs allow customers to have some control over the way they are billed, or at least a sense of stability. Indeed, fixed rate tariffs follow the opposite rule of a variable rate tariff, offering a rate that does not change whatever the current market prices. This stability usually only lasts 1 to 2 years, but can provide a kind of safety net for consumers wishing to keep a tight leash on their energy budget.

Octopus Energy’s Economy 7 tariffs

Economy 7 tariffs, also known as E7 tariffs, offer rates that differ depending on the time of day. They therefore include day rates and night rates, the latter being cheaper than the former. These periods of the day match up with on and off-peak energy consumption hours. Depending on how flexible your own energy consumption habits can be, an E7 tariff can help you spend less on electricity and gas.

An average cost comparison of Octopus Energy tariffs and rates

To give you an overview of what may be the cheapest and most expensive Octopus Energy tariffs, here is a comparison of the average costs of each plan. You will notice that there really isn’t such a great variation between these, implying a certain stability in the supplier’s offers.

What happened to Avro Energy?

If you’re confused as to why we are giving you Octopus Energy’s tariffs rather than Avro Energy’s, let us explain what has happened. On the 22nd of September 2021, in the context of sharply rising gas prices, Avro Energy went bust, meaning its customers were left without a supplier. Ofgem, the energy market regulator, therefore assigned, in bulk, all of Avro Energy’s old customers to a single new supplier, Octopus Energy, to make sure they received a continued supply of energy.

Why exactly did Avro Energy stop trading in 2021? After Covid-19 restrictions slowly ceased to be enforced, the reopening of markets and activity led to a sudden increase in energy demand all over the world. However, stocks were low, leading to a massive increase in gas prices in particular (over the course of 2021, the wholesale price of gas went up by 250% overall). Since the UK market also enforces price caps on energy, the situation made it impossible for a number of suppliers to keep trading.

What were Avro Energy’s tariffs and prices?

Avro prided themselves on their commitment to “Energy Made Simpler”. As such, they had a fairly modest range of tariffs that they supplied to around 40,000 customers across the UK. Although most customers with standard credit meters and Economy 7 meters were likely to find a tariff that fit their needs.

Let’s take a look in greater detail.

Please be aware that rates described are averaged out across the country. As such, rates may vary slightly, depending on where in the UK you live. Rates described all include VAT at 5%.

Avro Energy standard tariff

Avro Energy’s standard tariff was the variable rate tariff that was available to new and existing customers alike who didn’t want to be tied into a lengthy fixed contract. This was known as the Simple Energy tariff.

While, like most variable rate tariffs, this standard tariff had no exit fee, it was also their most expensive tariff. To put it into context, approximately 60% of other tariffs available were cheaper.

Their Simple Energy tariff rates were as follows:

Based on the Typical Domestic Consumption Values (TDCV) defined each year by the energy regulator OFGEM, the average family uses approximately 12,000.00 of gas and 2,900.00 of electricity per year. We can extrapolate this to create an average annual cost of:

• £ 446.54 in gas
• £ 540.30 in electricity

This combines to an estimated annual spend of £986.84 annual costs.

While this was slightly below Ofgem’s Energy Price Cap, which for the 1 April 2022 to 30 September 2022 period is £981.22-1,016.31 (depending on the region) per year for gas and £966.71-1,034.71 (depending on the region) for electricity, it wasn’t Avro’s most competitive tariff.

Looking to compare different energy suppliers?

Find out more

⭐️ Free Service

Compare and choose the best energy suppliers for your home.

This tariff was also proposed in a pay as you go option. It was slightly more expensive but enabled a better control of your energy budget.

Based on the same estimations as above, this led to the following annual estimated costs:

• £ 521.48 in gas
• £ 529.54 in electricity
• £ 529.54 in total

Avro fixed rate tariffs

Avro had overhauled its fixed rate tariffs, with a new range of tariffs representing some of the brand’s best deals. Their fixed deals were as follows:

Simple and uSaving

Avro’s Simple and uSaving 12M tariff became available in October 2020.

It was a 12 month fixed tariff that provided very competitive rates and good value for money. Best of all, unlike most fixed energy tariff, it did not have any associated exit fees. So if you decided that this wasn’t the best deal for you, you were free to switch to another tariff or supplier at any time without reprisals.

You can find out more information on the rates for this tariff below:

Simple and ReSuper

Another 12 month fixed tariff, the Simple and ReSuper tariff had slightly lower per unit rates. However, there was an exit fee of £30 per fuel with this tariff.

Details were as follows:

Simple and Fixed

Finally, the Simple and Fixed tariff usually represented the best value for money for most households. Unit rates for electricity and standing charges were the best that the brand had to offer. What’s more, you wouldn’t even have been charged any early exit fees if you wished to take your business elsewhere.

You can find out more below:

Avro Energy no standing charge tariff

If you were looking for an energy supply for a holiday home or other property that is not occupied all year round, Avro Energy’s no standing charge tariff would likely have appealed to you. Here, you only paid the unit rates for your fuels. And while this meant that this tariffs’ unit rates were not the cheapest, it was interesting to note that the electricity rate still compared favourably to Avro Energy’s standard variable rate.

Unfortunately, this tariff was terminated by Avro Energy.

Avro Energy prepayment tariffs

Unfortunately, Avro Energy did not supply electricity to customers with prepayment meters.

Avro Energy Economy 7 tariff

Curiously, although Avro Energy claimed to provide tariffs for Economy 7 customers, requesting a quote with an Economy 7 meter did not yield separate day and night rates. There was therefore not much interest in subscribing to these tariffs.

Avro Energy business tariffs

As a smaller energy supplier, Avro Energy did not offer business tariffs, preferring instead to focus its efforts squarely on the domestic energy market.

Avro Energy tariffs compared: Which was the cheapest tariff?

If we compare all of Avro Energy’s tariffs side-by-side, it becomes clear that the Simple and Superfixed tariff offered the best overall value for money, even though it had a fractionally higher gas unit rate than the Simple and Superglow tariff.

You can see the different tariffs along with their estimated monthly and annual costs below. These costs employed the UK average energy use of 12,500 kWh of gas and 3,100 kWh of electricity per year.

FAQ

What rate will I pay under my new supplier, Octopus Energy?

If Avro Energy used to be your energy supplier until the crisis, then you have indeed been transferred over to Octopus Energy, who will assign you a specific energy deal. This tariff is what we call a "deemed" tariff, and Octopus Energy will let you know what its rates and details are once it contacts you. Not to worry, though: once you've been contacted, you are at liberty to choose another tariff, either with Octopus Energy or with another supplier you wish to switch over to.

Are my bills higher with Octopus Energy?

This depends on which Avro Energy tariff and plan you had, and on which "deemed" tariff Octopus Energy has set you up with. The details of your new plan will be communicated to you in time, and if the rate seems too high, you may then shop around for other, cheaper deals, and even for another supplier.