How EV tariffs work for electric cars

Transitioning to an electric car also involves the transition away from filling up a tank with fossil fuels to charging your EV with electricity.

If you’re charging at home, you’re going to need to know a bit more about EV tariffs. So, we’ve written a guide on just that.

In this guide, we chat through:

• Understanding EV tariffs
• Do I need to inform my energy provider about my EV?
• How much is an EV tariff?
• Are EV tariffs good for the environment?
• Is switching to an EV tariff worth it?

Let’s start with the basics. EV tariffs are essentially specialised energy plans for your EV. They often offer more cost-effective and environmentally friendly charging.

They work separately from your standard household energy plan. And some EV tariffs, like Intelligent Octopus Go, are smart. This means the charger, or car, will work with your energy provider to automatically charge your EV when prices are lowest - costing you less money to charge.

As an Octopus EV customer, you also get the added benefit of Intelligent Octopus Go - EV Saver - saving you an extra 1p on cheaper overnight/off-peak rates.

It's also important to know that EV tariffs will need a smart meter connection.

In most cases, unless you’re getting an EV-specific tariff, you won’t need to notify your energy provider about your EV.

However, if you’re looking for an EV tariff, you’ll need to chat with your energy supplier and see what they offer. It’s important to remember that not all EV tariffs work with all chargers or cars - check your supplier and the EV tariff they offer to see which chargers and cars they’re compatible with.

EV tariffs can range in price, but because most have off-peak charging rates, they are mostly cheaper than standard energy tariffs.

By leveraging off-peak hours and/or using smart EV charging with smart EV tariffs (like Intelligent Octopus Go which starts at 7p per kW/h, or 1p cheaper on our EV Saver rate), you can save further on charging costs. For example, an average customer on Intelligent Octopus Go can save hundreds of pounds a year vs. Flexi.

Some EV tariffs, such as Intelligent Octopus Go, prioritise sustainability and use 100% renewable energy sources to charge your EV, including solar, wind, and water. They’ll usually do this by charging overnight when wind power is high but grid use is low (you can read more about this balance in What is grid balancing?).

If you charge overnight using wind energy, you save that energy going to waste whistling proving there is also demand for good clean energy.

You can read more about EV tariffs and the environment in our blog: How to charge my EV with renewable energy.

In our opinion, absolutely. You can benefit from cheaper and greener energy, during off-peak periods. This reduces your costs (significantly compared to fuel) but also helps towards a cleaner environment.

On the right tariff, your driving can be as little as 2p per mile.

EV tariffs help towards cost-effective and sustainable transport. With an EV tariff, you charge your car effectively and affordably, all while contributing to a greener future.

Want to find out more about charging? Head over to our guide to EV charging.