Top five tariffs to charge your electric vehicle this winter

Indra's guide to the cheapest energy tariffs to charge your electrical vehicle (EV) during the winter months.

One of the perks of owning an EV is the amount of money you can save in comparison to a petrol or diesel car, and whilst switching to an EV is a great start, there is much more to think about in order to maximise your saving potential.

Given that the average price for public charging is 53p/kWh on slow/fast chargers and 77p/kWh for rapid/ultra-rapid chargers, opting to charge your EV at home is a way to keep your charging costs down.

However, with overall energy prices on the rise and the winter months setting in, meaning we’re spending more time at home using energy, it’s worth evaluating whether you’re on the best tariff for charging your EV and managing the cost of doing so.

We've compared the latest tariffs available for EV drivers and compiled the most cost-effective tariffs to take advantage of this winter.

OVO Charge Anytime Tariff

OVO announced recently that its Charge Anytime Tariff, which enables EV drivers to charge at any time, has been reduced from 10p/kWh to 7p/kWh.

Given that this rate has no restrictions and that charging doesn’t need to fall within peak hours, this reduced price of 7p/kWh is quite a steal and makes it currently the UK's cheapest tariff to charge your EV.

Octopus Energy's Intelligent Octopus Tariff

Intelligent Octopus from Octopus Energy offers off-peak charging prices as low as 7.5p/kWh.

This cost applies to charging your EV overnight for up to six hours during off-peak hours, between 11:30pm and 5:30am.

EDF Go-Electric Overnight Tariff

EDF’s Go-Electric Overnight Tariff offers EV drivers a fixed rate for off-peak charging.

To plug in overnight for up to five hours, drivers can charge their EV for 8p/kWh.

In the winter, this must fall between the hours of 12am-5am and EDF recommends that at least 25% of charging should be done off-peak in order to make best use of this tariff.

E.ON Next Drive Tariff

With E.ON’s Next Drive Tariff, EV owners can charge off-peak for up to seven hours at a fixed rate of 9.5p/kWh, but this must fall within the hours of 12pm and 7am.

Whilst this rate is only fixed for 12 months, there are no exit fees attached to this tariff, should you wish to switch to another.

British Gas Electric Driver Tariff

To charge your EV between 12am-5am will cost 8.95p/kWh with the British Gas Electric Driver Tariff.

This off-peak rate has been fixed until September 2024, giving you plenty of time to make the most of this offer.

How to get the most out of the top EV tariffs

So, there are plenty of tariffs on the market that will help you make the most of the savings available when you own an EV.

However, whilst the tariffs are critical to this, there are a few more things that you should keep in mind when selecting your tariff as well as your EV charger.

• Standing Charges — when charging your car, you need to pay to connect to the grid. The price differs between tariffs and generally falls between 50p and 60p a day, but it’s worth factoring it in to your overall costs.
• Incentives and Offers — some energy providers provide incentives and offers which can make their tariffs even more cost-effective.
• Customer Status — be careful to check whether the tariff you’re interested in is available to new customers, or whether this is a perk for existing customers of that provider.
• Fixed Rates — whilst you may be locking into a great rate, if this fixed, there’s no guessing what this will increase to once that fixed term has ended.
• Exit Fees — if you have opted for a fixed rate which has now increased, you could be hit with a hefty exit fee to switch providers. Look out for this when you’re picking your tariff.
• Compatibility — there are some brilliant tariffs available for EV drivers, however, before getting your heart set on a particular tariff, make sure that it’s compatible with the EV charger you have installed. Indra, for example, is one of two brands on the market that offer a smart range of chargers that is compatible with the OVO Charge Anytime tariff.

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