Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | MAY 2023 | 29 Electricity others, posted a screenshot showing how they had earned zero point during the ses- sions on 1 and 12 December but almost 28,000 points on 19 January and then more than 51,000 on 23 January, adding: "It works! 19th I tested the theory, 23rd I went for it!" Octopus Energy said 800 OctoPoints are worth £1 to consumers. On this basis, the latter † gure of 51,000 points equates to almostˆ£64. "I just shiŒ ed my automations for the go period to these three hours," said another user. "I'm not convinced this is really for the best in carbon emission terms but † nancially it is a win for both me and Octopus." "Ooooo, got my result from the 23rd," they added in another post. "I didn't try too hard on this day and still made a pro† t of £15. Power rinse works." The threads on Reddit and the Octopus Energy website included links to a spread- sheet someone had created to enable people to work out exactly how much money they could earn. The discussion on the Octo- pus Energy website eventually turned to whether the baselining methodology would be altered, and if so, whether they could con- tinue gaming the system. "I would not be surprised if the IDA rules don't change once this little earner (loop- hole) becomes more well known," said one user. "But we have already had a good run." Another said: "Dumping the IDA does seem like it would be a good thing… much harder to game days that have already passed!" One user suggested that if the in-day adjustment was removed then "plan B" would be "use as much as possible during the likely peak periods on all the non-DFS days. Without ramping your bills too much of course." "The thing is that you don't know when the next saving session will be," replied another. "If that's the only way to have the system, I shan't be participating in that (not judging anyone else)." "Well, it is very much plan B," they responded, "but if you have to use kWh during peak cost periods, you might as well as aim for… 16.30 to 19:00 giving you faint chance of improved savings if there is a DFS even within 10 days. Another example of per- verse incentive." "If the in-day adjustment goes away, I think plan B might not be viable," said yet another user. "10 days of plan B at peak or even variable rates might outweigh the returns. I think this then becomes a game only for those on tariž s with predictable cheap times during the likely event time window." They said this method would likely only work if the Ÿ exibility payments during the sessions were at the high end of the range seen over this winter and "you play a perfect game on the day itself and using nothing over the window". They noted that if there were more than 10 days between sessions, each additional day would cost more money, quickly ož setting any potential gains. National Grid ESO tells Utility Week it is aware of reports of gaming and that it has alerted suppliers, which are also aware of the issue. The ESO emphasises that the Demand Flexibility Service was introduced as an innovative contingency measure for the winter and is not a commercial service. It says the service ends this week and it is already conducting a thorough and holistic review to see how it can be improved. Although a number of other suppliers took part in the service, Octopus provided the greatest volume of Ÿ exibility by a signi† - cant margin. A spokesperson for Octopus said: "We've always found that our early adopters are also early to understand how they can test our processes. So yes, we are aware, but actually it just means we've been able to adapt and improve – it's good to be tested. "This also proves why it's so important to do in-market testing rather than the tra- ditional energy industry approach of only virtually modelling. Real world activity ena- bles us to † nd people who will probe things for both good and bad (and is why Octo- pus has always tested and iterated in the realˆworld)." They said the "handful" of people that reported earning large payments through gaming the service represent a miniscule fraction of the nearly 700,000 customers who took part in their Saving Sessions. Nevertheless, Dylan Johnson from Future Energy Associates says the consultancy's retail analytics platform did pick up "unu- sual consumption behaviour" from "certain energy suppliers" in the lead up to events, with overall usage in the adjustment peri- ods exceeding what would otherwise be expected at these times by a small but noticeable amount. Johnson says the ež ect was not large enough to be of signi† cant concern at the moment but would be a problem if larger numbers of people participated in and gamed such services. He also notes that the consumers able to gain the most from gam- ing are likely more a¦ uent ones who are able to až ord multiple technologies such as electric vehicles, batteries and heat pumps. Tom Grimwood, insights editor "I am now managing nearly 175,000 points per session, £220. This far outweighs my electric cost of around £45 per session." "Got my result from the 23rd. I didn't try too hard on this day and still made a profi t of £15. Power rinse works."

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