What is an Agile-style electricity tariff?
An Agile-style tariff, also called a dynamic tariff, charges a different price for electricity in every half hour of the day. The prices follow the wholesale electricity market, so they change from one day to the next. If you can move some of your electricity use to the cheaper half hours, you pay less for it; if you use a lot when prices are high, you pay more.
How the prices are set
Each half hour has its own unit rate, in pence per kilowatt-hour (p/kWh), linked to wholesale prices for that period. The rates for the next day are published once a day, in advance. For example, on Octopus Energy’s Agile tariff the next day’s rates are published between 4pm and 8pm, usually nearer 4pm, and run from 11pm to 11pm UK time. Until they are published, any figure for tomorrow is only a forecast.
You also pay a daily standing charge, whatever you use. It covers fixed costs such as metering and the networks.
What a typical day looks like
- Cheaper: usually overnight, and sometimes in the middle of the day when demand is low or there is plenty of wind and solar power.
- Dearer: usually the early-evening peak, roughly 4pm to 7pm, when demand is highest.
- Below zero: when more electricity is generated than used, wholesale prices can turn negative. Some dynamic tariffs then pay you for each unit you use in those half hours.
- Capped: some tariffs limit how high a half-hourly price can go. Agile, for instance, has a cap of 100p/kWh. Check your own tariff’s terms.
The pattern changes with the seasons and the weather, so it is worth checking each day’s rates rather than relying on fixed times.
How it differs from other time-of-use tariffs
| Tariff type | How the unit rate works |
|---|---|
| Single-rate (fixed or variable) | One unit rate at every time of day. |
| Economy 7 and other multi-rate tariffs | A lower rate for a fixed block of hours at night, a higher rate the rest of the time. |
| Off-peak or EV tariffs | A cheaper window at the same times every day, often overnight. |
| Agile-style (dynamic) | A new price for every half hour, set each day from the wholesale market. |
What you need
- A smart meter your supplier can read remotely, which records your use every half hour.
- A supplier that offers a dynamic tariff where you live.
- To share half-hourly readings with your supplier. Your bill is worked out from what you used in each half hour, so the tariff cannot work without them.
Who it suits, and who it may not
Dynamic tariffs tend to suit households that can move a good share of their use: charging an electric car, running a home battery or heat pump on a schedule, or setting the washing machine and dishwasher to run later. They suit less well if most of your use falls in the early-evening peak and cannot move.
When wholesale prices are high for a long time, a dynamic tariff can cost more than a standard one. Compare it with your current tariff using your own usage before you switch. Savings are never guaranteed. For the detail on reading half-hourly rates, see half-hourly electricity prices explained, and for practical tips, see how to use cheap slots.
Plan with the day’s rates on your iPhone
Octomiser shows the current half-hourly rate and the rates still to come, finds the cheapest window for the time you need and keeps live rates in Home and Lock Screen widgets. Today it works with Octopus Energy accounts in the UK, including the Agile tariff.
Download on the App Store