With the fuel and cost of licence crisis in full swing, Electric vehicle (EV) drivers are beginning to see trouble down the road.

EV owners could pay up to eight times more to charge their car at home this winter. That’s the warning from Ohme if owners don’t make use of smart tariffs and plan ahead.

With the price of electricity set to soar this winter and next spring, EV running costs are on course for significant rises.

Get smarter

EV charging specialist Ohme is recommending EV drivers switch to a ‘smart tariff’ and utilise a smart charger. This should minimise the impact on their bills.

“It’s great that so many drivers have made the switch to an electric vehicle,” says Ohme CEO, David Watson. “If they’re not already on an off-peak tariff, those drivers need to quickly review their options to protect themselves from these future wholesale price rises”.

His advice is to speak to your existing electricity supplier and establish if they offer an off-peak tariff.  Octopus and OVO Energy are good examples of this.

“If they don’t, then look at switching suppliers to one that does so that you can off-set the impacts of these significant price increases that experts are predicting.”

Ohme smart tariff EV costs

 

Rise up

Experts are predicting wholesale electricity prices will more than double this winter. This will raise the Standard Variable Tariff set by energy ombudsman Ofgem to around 60p per kWh (up from the current 28p/kWh).

Charging an electric vehicle on an off-peak tariff can secure low running costs of around 1.9 pence per mile. For an annual mileage of around 15,000 miles, this could cost as little as £285.

By comparison, if the Standard Variable Tariff rises to 60p/kWh, that same annual mileage would cost a driver around £2,250 – eight times more than on an off-peak tariff.

Intelligent motoring

Smart chargers can connect with the national grid in real time and automatically adjust its charging. It allows owners of EVs to take advantage of all the times of low price charging with smart off-peak tariffs.

Ohme’s charger offers drivers the option to charge their car when renewable energy generation on the National Grid is at its highest. This has the added environmental benefit of further lowering their CO2 impact.