Matt Bunney

Energy procurement and risk for Octopus Energy

[Matt Bunney @MBunney]

@FalseSimplicity @OctopusEnergy 🧵2/2

This website shows the long term history of actual spot UK gas prices - you'll see that whilst they have fallen recently they are still a long way above historic levels.

https://t.co/vsyRJ3b4Zu

[Matt Bunney @MBunney]

@FalseSimplicity @OctopusEnergy 🧵1/2

Hi Julian, I look after energy procurement for Octopus.

The livecharts historical data is quite misleading, and note their disclaimer 'This chart is a live CFD price, and not actual market data'.

[Matt Bunney @MBunney]

@ClemCowton @gordonrlove @Gordon_DHG @nick_speechley Hi Gordon, happy to help. Could you give a little more context on the ask - are you looking at fixed or variable price tariffs for example? Feel free to DM if easier

[Matt Bunney @MBunney]

@norfolkmustard @Zarch1972 @david_sykes89 Been a long time coming! Largely due to crazy warm temps and slightly lower commercial demand due to Christmas and covid
Phase 2 of Hornsea is just starting to come on line (great news!) but I think it’s still commissioning - should be more still to come

[Matt Bunney @MBunney]

@g__j @Eor_deLampe @ChrisACave @RealSpleen @energystatsuk @OctopusEnergy It’s an usually pricy start to the summer. Wind is low tonight (some but not loads) meaning gas is the main price setter. And gas is v expensive right now - outages in Norwegian supply, high Asian demand and political tensions limiting Russian flows through Ukraine all unhelpful

[Matt Bunney @MBunney]

@g__j @wasteheatuser It has been rather wonky. Agile was mega cheap this time last year as Covid really drove down global consumption. For now it’s quite sensitive to wind - I think we had a few periods <1p early Tuesday morning but does sit higher in low renewable periods

[Matt Bunney @MBunney]

@g__j @Roberts71B @OctopusEV Hi Martin - yes low wind this week has been a key driver, coupled with increasing commercial demand as we come further out of lockdown. Also a bit of Sod’s law as I belatedly had my home charger installed last week 🤦‍♂️

[Matt Bunney @MBunney]

@g__j @eddiewawa @energystatsuk @octopus_energy @david_sykes89 Hey Eddie, very little to add to the excellent answer given by @cdprice86 earlier - unhelpful combo of low renewables and cold temps pushing up demand. Suspect lockdown relaxation has pushed up consumption in retail and hospitality as well

[Matt Bunney @MBunney]

@g__j @eLEJOG @GuyLipman @octopus_energy @agile_phil Really interesting. Greg’s right as to the reasons we don’t offer our forecast - and Guy has explained this well. We use much the same data as Guy for our processes - and fully capturing the magnitude of larger deviations certainly can be a challenge at times

[Matt Bunney @MBunney]

@g__j @HibbsA @octopus_energy It does reduce lighting consumption a little, more people benefit from 7pm sunlight than 6am. I’m not aware of any production impact

[Matt Bunney @MBunney]

@Yorkie71 @g__j @octopus_energy @agile_phil Also great news for anyone on agile export who’s been able to generate at £1 or more!

[Matt Bunney @MBunney]

@Yorkie71 @g__j @octopus_energy @agile_phil There were some high prices during the storms at the end of 2016 but, compared with recent history, it’s up there. The blog explains it well, it’s been an v unhelpful confluence of extreme global weather and generation outages.

[Matt Bunney @MBunney]

@Yorkie71 @g__j @octopus_energy @agile_phil We do our best to soften the blow (there’s periods tomorrow where it’ll actually cost us >£1/kWh - there’s been fist shaking in 🐙 towers too!) but we’re happy to cap agile at 35p so your rates don’t go too far out of control.

[Matt Bunney @MBunney]

@Yorkie71 @g__j Absolutely. But each day when we publish the following days Agile prices, we fix them for you. If it turns out to be particularly cold or cloudy and market prices move, that's my problem, not yours. It's designed to give you that days warning so you can plan accordingly.

[Matt Bunney @MBunney]

@g__j @Yorkie71 Prices are set 24 hours in advance. Low pricing usually happens when day-ahead forecasts show low customer demand and high renewable generation, leaving an expected surplus. This pricing enables customers to use this surplus, MUCH better than curtailing windfarms to balance

[Matt Bunney @MBunney]

@SummerRay @amylovescake

[Matt Bunney @MBunney]

Did you hear about the magic tractor that drove down the road and turned into a field? #castlen1quiz

[Matt Bunney @MBunney]

I’ve set up a new business sending trampolines to Prague... only problem is the Czechs keep bouncing 🤦‍♂️ #castlen1quiz

[Octopus Arsenal @octopus_arsenal]

We supported #EarthHourUK #MakeClimateMatter on 25 March. We're going beyond the hour by powering @Arsenal Emirates with sustainable energy

[Octopus Energy @OctopusEnergy]

Meet Matt whose job it is to secure enough #RenewableEnergy for our growing customer base https://t.co/a6hidbpo4r