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Compare EV Tariffs.
Are you charging an electric vehicle at home? If so you’ll need to compare EV tariffs. We are in the middle of an energy crisis and so keeping running costs down may well be a priority! Buying or leasing electric care isn’t cheap. So ensuring you are not paying more than you should for your energy is important. It’s really easy to compare EV tariffs so give it a go.
Why pay more to charge your electric car?
Imagine if a petrol station started charging 75% less for fuel after midnight. There would be traffic queueing around the block waiting to grab a bargain. With Octopus Go that’s exactly what you get without leaving the comfort of your home! There’s no need to sit in line all you have to do is plug in and Go. If you have a home charger or your car allows you to preset charging times it’s even easier. Plus this isn’t a one-off gimmick. Octopus Go is 12p per kWh for 4 hours and Intelligent Octopus is 10p per kWh for 6 hours off-peak for both new and existing customers. 💃🕺
You may also consider Octopus Agile for home charging. Plus if you have solar and battery storage Octopus Flux may save you money. This is where Octopus Energy stands out from other suppliers they have a variety of smart tariffs that have expanded recently to include battery storage and solar tariffs as well as heat pumps.
As consumers, our needs are changing as many people look towards technology that can help them lower their carbon footprint and save money. Octopus covers most of the bases with their innovative tariffs.
How much does charging an electric car at home add to your energy bill?
According to the UK Department of Transport in 2019, the distance a UK car travelled was on average 7,400 miles. An electric vehicle will do on average somewhere between 2.5 and 4.5v miles per kWh depending on the battery. If we take an average of 3.5 miles per kWh each car will use 2,114 kWh a year. (That’s it for the technical side 😆🤯)
If you are on the Octopus Go tariff and driving 7,400 miles a year, using the above example, your electricity cost for charging at home will add £253.68 to your energy bill over 12 months if you charge off-peak. (2,114 kWh x 0.012p)
If you charge at the price cap limit which is roughly 30p per kWh you will pay £634.20. That’s still really low compared to a year’s worth of petrol or diesel BUT it’s £380.52 more than you need to pay if you switched to Octopus Go.
Is Octopus Go the best electric vehicle energy tariff on the market? Is there a cheaper electric vehicle tariff for home charging?
In my opinion yes, Octopus Go is the best energy tariff on the market for charging an electric vehicle at home!
- The Octopus Go tariff costs approximately 3p per mile when you charge your electric vehicle at home using Octopus Go off-peak. (Depending on how you drive and the time of year)
- EDF Go Electric 35 was a close second BUT they have stopped taking on new customers for their EV tariff.
The general advice has been to stay on the standard variable tariff and not switch to a new supplier. This is general advice that doesn’t take into account varying energy needs such as charging an electric vehicle. You must consider if charging your electric vehicle off-peak at home will reduce the average price you pay per kWh if you switch to Octopus Go.
The Octopus Go tariff daytime rate is 40.04p per kWh. It is higher than the Energy Price Guarantee but by load shifting your electricity use to your off-peak rate, you can bring down the average price you pay per kWh.
I would also recommend looking at the Intelligent tariff if you own a Tesla. It’s the tariff I am currently on BUT as it is a fairly new beta tariff, it isn’t open to all-electric vehicles. That’s why Octopus Go is my chosen best option. However, if you can get on the Intelligent tariff I would go fo for it!
OVO Energy Anytime Tariff v Octopus Intelligent Tariff.
OVO Energy has launched an EV tariff called OVO Anytime. At a very quick glance, with your eyes squinted and a trick of the light you might think it is a similar tariff to the Octopus Intelligent Tariff. In fact, if you don’t open your eyes wide enough you may even think it is better. 🤣
Both Octopus OVO Anytime and Octopus Intelligent Tariff charge 10p per kWh for charging your electric vehicle.
For both tariffs you will need;
- A smart meter.
- A specific EV charger or specific EV (There is a list of compatible chargers and EVs)
Where OVO Anytime looks like it has the lead is that it is an ANYTIME tariff as the name suggests.
Octopus Intelligent is a SMART tariff and like the name suggests it is intelligent. It charges your EV when the grid is the greenest making it better for you and the planet. Octopus aims to charge customers’ EVs at night when there is less demand on the grid. As the whole house gets off-peak electricity Octopus allows customers to bring the average price they pay for kWh down.
I spoke with the Head of Zero Carbon Living at Ovo Energy about the Ovo Energy Anytime tariff.
@sarah_go_green Comparing OVO Anytime EV tariff with @Octopus Energy intelligent tariff. #evtariffs #evhomecharging #ovoenergy ♬ original sound – sarah_go_green
The Octopus Intelligent off-peak window is 11.30 pm to 5.30 am but if you need a longer charger you usually get it. The schedule is created after 5 pm but you cannot ask for your vehicle to be ready before 4 am.
OVO Anytime is a bolt-on tariff. If you are on the standard variable, as an example, you would continue paying that rate during the day. So when you are not charging your EV you aren’t charged any more. The standard variable tariff is roughly 34p per kWh. Whilst on Octopus Intelligent tariff you pay more. It would be roughly 40p – 42p per kWh throughout the day.
You can read my full review of Intelligent Octopus v Ovo Charger Energy in my recent blog post.
Positives about OVO Anytime.
OVO Anytime has a cheaper day rate and potentially it’s easier to charge your EV as there are no time restrictions on th 10p per kWh. You can plug in and ask for a schedule whenever you want. (I telephone to check and this is the case)
According to OVO, the new tariff allows customers to use a low, flat rate for EV charging that is separate from household usage, thus reducing the overall cost of bills. It is important to make that the overall cost they refer to is for EV charging and not the overall cost of a household’s energy bill. You’ll need to read on to find out why this is an important difference when comparing the Octopus Intelligent tariff and Octopus Anytime.
Why Octopus Intelligent tariff beats OVO Anytime?
Everyone’s energy needs are different; however, it is important to be aware that every night, regardless of whether you charge your electric vehicle (EV), the whole house benefits from the off-peak rate on the Octopus Intelligent tariff.
You can create a routine to save on energy costs by running your dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer at night during the Octopus intelligent tariff off-peak window. Additionally, as an example, you can heat your hot water using the immersion heater at a rate of 10p per kWh too. It is more efficient than gas plus gas is slightly more expensive on the standard variable.
At night, I am like a ninja, timing everything so that my washing machine and dishwasher are rarely used during the day.
You can also charge your home battery on the Octopus intelligent tariff at 10p per kWh. You cannot charge your home battery at this rate on OVO Anytime.
If you work shifts and can’t charge your EV at night or you do not want to load shift your energy to the night time then it could be you would prefer OVO Anytime. In fact, you’d probably cheer! It does really depend on your needs and preferences but for my home and EV charging needs, the Octopus Intelligent tariff is the clear winner.
Load-shifting Octopus Intelligent Tariff.
I load shift around 60% of my energy off-peak each month. At home, I have 3 school-aged kids who I home-educate and cook meals for at lunch and dinner time. With some planning, we still managed to get the average price we pay per kWh down to roughly 22p per kWh by load-shifting thanks to the Octopus Intelligent tariff. You can’t do this on OVO Anytime. It only covers the EV charging which is applied as a discount the following month and you don’t get the off-peak rate when you are not charging in any event.
Helping the planet with smart intelligent tariffs.
Now OVO Anytime claims to be smart and intelligent but it doesn’t yet have the capability to accommodate solar PV. If you have solar and an EV you can smart charge your EV using solar or energy from the grid on the Octopus Intelligent tariff. You can’t do this with OVO.
OVO Energy states;
Not being able to use Charge Anytime if you have solar is only temporary. There’s a few technical things that prevent Kaluza Flex from picking up the EV charging with solar around. But that should be sorted in the future.
When I called them I was also disappointed with their ethos towards promoting a greener grid. Even though the tariff is proclaimed as smart and intelligent unlike the Intelligent tariff the consumer rather than the planet is very much the priority. Personally, I am looking for a tariff that makes EV charging more sustainable.
If you want to charge and ask for a schedule between 4 pm and 7 pm according to OVO they’ll provide a schedule during that window on the OVO Anytime tariff.
The big winner is the openness of Ovo Energy to discuss their new tariff. We need competition in this market and Ovo Energy’s Head of Zero Carbon Living spent a good 30 minutes talking through the tariff with me. How many companies would do that?
Aren’t all Energy suppliers the same? Octopus Energy and British Gas. (My current and previous Energy suppliers)
Back in 2022, I watched Chris O’Shea, CEO of Centrica (the company that owns British Gas) give oral evidence in a Select Committee meeting. The committee looked into the current energy crisis and ways to achieve Net-Zero. Mr O’Shea called for less competition and more regulation, while Greg Jackson the CEO of Octopus Energy said the polar opposite!!
Greg Jackson the CEO of Octopus Energy talked about Elon Musk and how electric vehicles can be the gateway to achieving Netzero!! He also went on to explain how companies could, if regulations changed, offer cheaper, greener energy to their customers when green energy is abundant.
When you decide on your energy supplier if electrification and achieving Netzero is important to you I think looking at the suppliers’ long-term goals and values has to be a consideration.
You can watch the Industries and Regulators committee meeting. Chris O’Shea is up first and an hour or so later Greg Jackson. It is like watching people from 2 different eras!
My previous supplier British Gas has this to offer exclusively to EV divers!
Comparison between British Gas and Octopus Energy electric vehicle tariffs. 👇
The cheapest EV tariff quoted by British Gas.
Comparing Electric Vehicle Tariffs - 17/03/23 British Gas - Electric Drivers Feb 2024 Octopus Intelligent Tariff - From 21/04/2023 Octopus Energy - Go Tariff
From 21/04/23
Unit price off-peak 15p per kWh 👀(5 hours off peak) 7.5p per kWh (6 hours off peak) 9.5p per kWh (4 hours off peak)
Standard unit price. 40.165p per kWh 40.10p per kWh 40.10p per kWh.
Standing charge 48.209p per day 52.18p per day 52.18p per day
Fixed Contract ends. Feb 2024 Varibale Variable
EXIT FEE NO 💚 No 💚 NO 💚
The British Gas tariff is fixed for 12 months but it also costs more per kWh and as wholesale energy prices are going down I don’t know if that will impact a decision to choose this tariff.
Both Octopus EV tariffs are cheaper than British Gas per kWh but the Intelligent tariff is an amazing deal as quite often you get more than the 6 hours off-peak. It depends on how much of a charge you need but if your battery is almost empty you could get more than 6 hours. You can read about this in my full review of the intelligent tariff.
Octopus Energy is beating other energy providers hands down with their electric vehicle tariffs. They reward electric vehicle drivers for taking the step to going all-electric. Buying an electric car isn’t the cheapest option BUT reducing the running costs with ridiculously cheap home-charging electric vehicles starts to look more attractive. Compare the running costs of a combustion car to your chosen electric vehicle. It’s quite an eye-opener.
💚🚘💚⚡️☀️ ⏰ 🚘💚⚡️☀️ ⏰.