Frequently asked questions about Octopus Tracker

What is Tracker and how does it work?

Octopus Tracker is Britain's first tariff to truly follow the wholesale price of energy. Every day, we update the price of your energy based on an independently published wholesale market price — the price available to all suppliers. Tracker is a 12-month fixed term tariff, which means that whilst your daily unit rates will change, the formula and the standing charges are set for the duration of your term.

You’re free to leave Tracker at any time - there’s no exit fee - but if you decide to leave, you can’t rejoin Tracker for 9 months.

Why does Tracker's formula change?

Octopus Tracker was created to closely reflect the true cost of energy. The daily unit price reflects wholesale prices more accurately than nearly any other tariff in the country, but there are other important components in an energy bill apart from just the wholesale cost.

We review the Tracker formula and standing charge every three months, each time the energy price cap updates, to make sure Tracker prices fairly reflect things like taxes and levies, network maintenance and meter rental, as well as energy regulation.

Customers will always join or renew onto the latest Tracker formula.

How does the price cap work?

Every three months, the UK’s energy regulator updates their energy price cap which sets out the maximum rates a supplier can charge. The cap is based on a suppliers’ real cost to supply energy, including wholesale costs, taxes and levies, and a whole host of other costs like network maintenance and meter rental.

This is why we will continue reviewing Tracker’s formula frequently (every 3 months) to ensure it reflects the true costs of energy.

How is the daily unit rate for Octopus Tracker calculated?

Prices for Tracker are made up of a daily unit rate (the price you pay for every unit of energy you use, comprising wholesale and non-wholesale costs) and a daily standing charge. The formula to calculate the unit rate (in p/kWh) from the wholesale price W (in p/kWh for electricity and p/therm for gas) varies by region. If this formula is changed, we'll give you reasonable notice.

For electricity, the wholesale price W, is the baseload average price (in p/kWh) from the previous day's N2EX GB Day-Ahead auction. For gas, the W is the day ahead or weekend price in p/therm on the previous working day from Marex Spectron. The additional component covers non-wholesale costs such as environmental and social obligations, distribution, transmission, balancing and trading fees.

Here’s the formula if you joined or renewed on or after 1 April 2026 at 12:00am BST

East England
Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.29) + 9.854 p per kWh
Gas unit charge: (W * 0.0361) + 2.0936 p per kWh

East Midlands
Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.26) + 9.027 p per kWh
Gas unit charge: (W * 0.0361) + 2.1592 p per kWh

London
Electricity unit charge: (W * 1.30) + 9.717 p per kWh
Gas unit charge: (W * 0.0361) + 2.5616 p per kWh

Mounting costs and calculations continue with additional regions...

How do I sign up to Tracker?

You need to…

1. Already be an Octopus Energy customer. If you're not a customer yet, you can switch online with just a few taps here.
2. Have smart meters that send us regular readings. If you don't have a smart meter yet, we can install one for you at no extra cost. Register your interest here.
3. Head to our Tracker homepage to start your tariff switch and find out more information.

How will the changes the government announced in the November 2025 Budget be applied to my rates?

If you signed up before 1st April 2026 we'll automatically reduce your daily unit rates by 3.5 p/kWh for electricity and 0.33 p/kWh for gas.

What happens if I want to leave Tracker?

If you find that Tracker isn't right for you, you can change tariffs at any time in your account under ‘change my tariff’. You can also email hello@octopus.energy and we will move you to one of our other tariffs. This can take up to two weeks to be processed.

Switching to another supplier will take their usual time. There are no exit fees on Tracker. After leaving, you'll need to wait 9 months before switching back to Tracker.