
Electric vehicle energy tariffs
What are they and how do they work?
With over 500,000 electric vehicles on UK roads, some energy suppliers have started offering energy tariffs aimed at electric vehicle owners. But what are they, how are they different, and are they worth it?
Most EV tariffs have been pulled
With the energy market in crisis, and the Government stepping in with the energy price guarantee, most providers have stopped offering electric vehicle (EV) tariffs. There is one still left, from Octopus Energy, but it's only available to existing customers. If it's right for you, you may still be able to get it, but you'll need to switch to its standard tariff first (this is harder right now due to the energy crisis, though you may be able to switch to it if you ring 'em up). We'll add full analysis of EV tariffs when more become available again.
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This is the first incarnation of this guide. If you've any feedback or tips you think we should add, please let us know in the Electric vehicles energy tariffs forum thread.

What are electric vehicle energy tariffs?
As the name suggests, these are energy tariffs aimed at owners of electric vehicles (EVs) that use their home electricity to charge their car.
There are generally two types of EV tariffs:
- Two-rate tariffs, that offer cheaper electricity overnight. The most common, and typically the cheapest type of EV tariff, offers two different electricity rates depending on the time of day, with much lower rates at night. This means you can charge your car – or run your dishwasher, washing machine etc (there are often no stipulations on what you can use the cut-price electricity for) – very cheaply overnight.
- Single-rate tariffs, where you pay the same rate throughout the day, but it's often discounted if you have an EV. The other type of EV tariff works the same way as regular deals, where you pay a flat rate, but it'll be a special price if you've an EV, or you'll get extras such as bill credit.
You can usually only get these tariffs if you own an EV (suppliers say they reserve the right to ask for proof of ownership). For more on owning an EV, or if you're thinking of getting one, see our full Electric Vehicles guide.
Yet right now, most suppliers have pulled their EV tariffs after the Government introduced the energy price guarantee, which caps bills at £2,500/year for a typical household.
Six electric vehicle energy tariff need-to-knows
Energy tariffs for EVs are a bit more complicated than your standard gas and electricity deal, so before we go through the tariffs, here are some tips to help you navigate the market...
How to find your cheapest tariff – you'll usually have to do a manual comparison
Most electric vehicle tariffs have now been pulled from the market due to the energy crisis (we've analysis of one potentially decent one below for Octopus customers).
That means for most right now, you're unlikely to be able to get an EV tariff. We've kept the info on how to do it for when the deals return, as EV tariffs usually aren't on comparison sites.
Two-rate tariffs are generally the cheapest EV tariffs, but they're trickier to compare
Here's a rough way of working it out:
- Find out how much your EV needs. Work out how much electricity you'll need to charge your car for the mileage you'll likely do (check car's instruction manual if don't already have an EV)
- Work out how much it'd be on the EV tariff.
- Get overnight rates of the EV tariff and multiply that by the amount you need to charge car (we're assuming here you only charge off-peak, if not, adjust your maths).
- Get peak day rates for the EV tariff to work out a cost for your normal electricity use (you'll see that on an old bill – deduct your car use if you've got one already)
- Add costs for normal electricity use and EV charging together (if you have gas too, you'll need to add that as well in a similar way - you can do a gas-only comparison if the EV tariff doesn't offer gas).
- Work out how much it'll be on a regular tariff. Go into Cheap Energy Club and put in your total use in (including EV use) and you'll see an annual cost based on your current tariff (and cheapest other regular tariffs).
- Then compare the total cost for an EV tariff versus a regular tariff. Do the maths to work out what is cheapest (remember to factor in gas if needed).
Single-rate tariffs are generally pricier, but are easier to compare
Find out how much your EV needs as above and add that to your usual use (if you don't already have an EV), then get an annual quote of the price directly from the EV tariff supplier. Simply make a note of that quote, then do a normal full-market comparison to see how it compares to regular deals.
There's one EV tariff that could still be decent for some, but only for existing Octopus customers
While most EV tariffs have been pulled, there is one electricity-only tariff – Octopus Energy's Octopus Go – that could work out cheaper than being on the energy price guarantee for some EV owners. But it's only really worth it for existing Octopus customers, and you need to make full use of the cheap night-time rate.
How to get an EV tariff – you'll usually need to be an existing customer
As we've mentioned above, the situation in the energy market right now means that most EV tariffs are no longer available. We've info below on how you generally go about getting one, for when they return. The info also applies to the one remaining tariff from Octopus Energy, if you're interested in that.
Have your say in our forum!

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