Contracts & Tariffs

Tracker Tariff

Key takeaways

A tracker tariff is a tariff where the price you pay follows a published reference (often wholesale prices or an index) plus a margin.

Prices can change daily or monthly depending on the tariff design.

Tracker-style pricing is more common in domestic, but the same “index-linked” idea can appear in business arrangements too.

What is a tracker tariff?

A tracker tariff is generally described as tracking wholesale energy prices and setting customer prices accordingly (often on a daily basis for domestic tracker products).

For business, you’ll also hear this described as:

  • index-linked pricing
  • market-linked pricing
  • or a “formula tariff”

Same principle: the price moves with a reference rather than staying fixed.

What to check before choosing tracker pricing

  1. What exactly is being tracked (which index/reference)?
  2. How often does your price update (daily / weekly / monthly)?
  3. Is there any cap, collar, or protection against spikes?
  4. How does it combine with standing charge and any pass-through costs?

Sources

  1. Octopus Energy: Tracker tariff FAQs (example of how a tracker formula can be fixed while unit rates move).