Global energy and technology company Octopus Energy has launched the UK’s first mass market vehicle-to-grid tariff – Octopus Power Pack – which it says guarantees free charging for drivers.
Octopus Energy says an average electric car driver will be able to save more than £850 a year in charging costs on Octopus Power Pack compared to charging on a standard variable tariff.
The tariff, which is still in beta, uses V2G technology and Octopus Energy’s tech platform, Kraken, to balance charging and discharging when it’s best for the grid – charging up the car with cheap, green electricity during off peak times and exporting back to the grid when it needs it most.
All drivers need to do is plug in their car for roughly six hours a day. The rest of the process is automated, leaving drivers with guaranteed free charging.
Octopus Power Pack is available to drivers with V2G compatible electric cars and chargers available in the UK. There is currently only a limited number of models that have this capability, however, car manufacturers such as Volvo have made commitments to releasing V2G-ready models soon.
The tariff cements Octopus’ position as the UK’s leading energy supplier for EV drivers. Octopus recently passed 200,000 customers signed up to its EV optimised tariffs – Intelligent Octopus Go and Octopus Go – making up roughly a fifth of electric car drivers on UK roads.
Alex Schoch, Head of Flexibility at Octopus Energy, said: “We recently moved past a million EVs on UK roads – a major milestone – but their true power for storing energy remains untapped. Once we reach 10 million electric cars on the road, we’ll have enough storage to power the entirety of Great Britain during peak times. All our drivers have to do is plug in regularly and their charging is completely free.
“EVs are going to be a major lever in our future flexible, green grid, but to get there we need to unlock the capabilities of their batteries. Now we have Octopus Power Pack, it’s over to car manufacturers to build the cars that are compatible with V2G technology.”
The tariff works as a bolt-on that separates charging from the rest of the home and runs alongside each customer’s regular import tariff. Customers can also stack the benefits of payments for solar generation on top of this tariff.
The savings are calculated under the assumption of 10,000 miles driven each year and drivers must plug in their electric car for 170+ hours each month to receive their free charging. Drivers must also stay below the usage limit of 333kWh per month (roughly 12,000 miles a year).
(Picture – Octopus Energy)
