Electric car owners urged to switch to EV-only energy tariff
Drivers of electric vehicles are being urged to switch to an EVfriendly energy tariff ahead of expected rises in utility bills this April.
Nationwide home charge point installer Smart Home Charge has found that those charging their electric vehicles at home could save close to £600 a year by switching to a more economical tariff.
It comes following Ofgem’s announcement that household utility bills would rise again from April 1, while the Government’s winter-related rebate is also expected to come to an end during the same period.
Using data compiled by its Energy Tariff Comparison too, Smart Home Charge has found that EV owners could save around £20 per charge by topping up during off-peak periods. Accessed via an energy tariff designed for electric vehicle owners, these savings could amount to around £50 per month.
Danny Morgan, editor and marketing manager at Smart Home Charge, said: “The rising price of energy means the cost of running an EV is not as cheap as it was 18 months ago, however electric car drivers can still make huge savings on home car charging by switching to an EV friendly electricity tariff.
“EV-friendly tariffs offer a much cheaper electricity price, typically overnight, helping reduce the cost of a single charge, but our previous research has found as many as 50 per cent of EV owners were not taking advantage of these cheaper rates.”
Electric car owners are currently some of the few able to switch between different tariffs, with Octopus Energy’s Intelligent Octopus currently the leader and ‘most competitive’, according to Smart Home Charge.
“Although we could see prices rise on all tariffs, including EV friendly ones, the off-peak price is always likely to be much more favourable than a typical standard tariff, so it’s a simple way to immediately reduce the cost to charge an EV. Plus, you can even reduce the cost of using your washing machine or dishwasher by setting a delay so they operate when the offpeak price kicks in.”