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Electric vehicle energy tariffs
What are they and how do they work?
Updated 11 November 2024
Energy suppliers are again offering tariffs aimed at electric vehicle owners. If you're one of the million EV owners in the UK, should you go for one? This guide helps you decide if they're worth it.
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 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. This is similar to how Economy 7 tariffs work.
If you make full use of the cheap overnight rate, the best two-rate deal generally works out cheaper than capped standard variable tariffs. See What EV tariffs are available? for our full analysis.
- 'Add-on' tariffs where you can only charge your car on the cheaper rate. With this type of 'tariff', you'll get a cheap rate to charge your EV at anytime, while all other electricity use in your home will be charged at your existing tariff rates. But you'll need to have a compatible EV and a smart charger.
Currently, only Ovo and Scottish Power offer this, so if you're an existing customer of either of these, or choose to switch to one of them, you can add the EV charging tariff to whichever Ovo or Scottish Power tariff you're on.
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.
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Eight 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...
What are the cheapest EV tariffs?
Tariffs change regularly and new ones are launched all the time, but below are the top deals aimed at electric vehicle owners.
To help you compare, we've worked out the average electricity rates on offer, and the average annual price. As there are no official figures on average consumption for someone with an electric vehicle, we've taken typical usage for a dual-fuel household, and added some extra electricity use for the electric vehicle – enough to charge a Nissan Leaf from empty to full once a week (that'd get you about 160 miles). We've assumed you'll want gas as well, so have given average dual-fuel prices.
While it might not be an entirely accurate figure, it gives us a base for comparison – but be aware these tariffs are complicated to compare, so this as a list of who to try, rather than which one is best.
| PROVIDER & TARIFF | HOW IT WORKS | AVG COST/YR (1) |
| Price capped dual-fuel tariff – to benchmark EV deals. Most homes are on a price-capped tariff, so we've used the Cap to benchmark (average elec rate: 24.5p per kWh, gas: 6.24p per kWh). See Energy Price Cap regional unit rates. |
£2,201 | |
E.on Next - Next Drive Fixed, dual-fuel & electricity-only, new & existing customers |
Two-rate tariff with seven off-peak hours, fixed for 12 months - Off-peak hours: 12am to 7am - Off-peak rate: 6.7p/kWh There are no exit fees. See full tariff details. |
£1,839 |
British Gas - Electric Driver Fixed, dual-fuel & electricity-only, new & existing customers |
Two-rate tariff with five off-peak hours, fixed until 30 November 2025 - Off-peak hours: 12am to 5am - Off-peak rate: 7.9p/kWh (4)
Exit fees of £50 per fuel. See full tariff details. |
£1,848 |
Ovo - Charge Anytime Existing customers only |
Two-rate 'add-on' tariff – but you can only charge your car on the cheaper rate & not everyone can get it - Off-peak hours: Anytime - Off-peak rate: 7p/kWh (for EV charging only) Ovo's Charge Anytime is an add-on to its existing tariffs that gives a rate of 7p/kWh for any electricity you use for charging an EV. You'll initially be charged the normal rate under your existing tariff for all electricity you use, but Ovo says it will refund you the difference for anything you use for charging your EV each month. However, it's only available to those with certain EVs or EV home chargers. See full tariff details. As it's an add-on to any existing Ovo tariff, we've used the supplier's standard variable tariff prices for the non-EV costs but it can be added to any of Ovo's available tariffs. |
£1,856 |
EDF - GoElectric Overnight Dec 25 Fixed, dual-fuel & electricity-only, new & existing customers |
Two-rate tariff with five off-peak hours, fixed until 31 December 2025 - Off-peak hours: 12am to 5am - Off-peak rate: 8.99p/kWh (3) Exit fees of £75 per fuel. See full tariff details. |
£1,861 |
| Octopus Energy - Intelligent Octopus Go Variable, electricity-only, existing customers only |
Two-rate tariff with six off-peak hours – but not everyone can get it - Off-peak hours: 11.30pm to 5.30am - Off-peak rate: 7p/kWh |
£1,878 (2) |
| Octopus Energy - Octopus Go Variable, electricity-only, existing customers only |
Two-rate EV tariff with five off-peak hours - Off-peak hours: 12.30am to 5.30am - Off-peak rate: 8.5p/kWh It's electricity-only, so you'll need a separate gas deal – we've paired it with Octopus' standard variable gas tariff to give a cost for a dual-fuel home. See full tariff details. |
£1,908 (2) |
| Scottish Power - EV Optimise Existing customers only |
Two-rate 'add-on' tariff – but you can only charge your car on the cheaper rate & not everyone can get it - Off-peak hours: Anytime - Off-peak rate: 10p/kWh (for EV charging only) Scottish Power's EV Optimise is an add-on to any of its existing tariffs (excluding EV Saver and Heat Saver tariffs) that gives a rate of 10p/kWh for any electricity you use for charging an EV. You'll initially be charged the normal rate under your existing tariff for all electricity you use, but Scottish Power says it will refund you the difference for anything you use for charging your EV each month. However, it's only available to those with certain EVs or EV home chargers. See full tariff details. As it's an add-on to any existing Scottish Power tariff, we've used the supplier's standard variable tariff prices for the non-EV costs but it can be added to any of Scottish Power's available tariffs. |
£1,915 |
| Scottish Power - EV Saver Variable, dual-fuel & electricity-only, existing customers only |
Two-rate tariff with five off-peak hours - Off-peak hours: 12am to 5am - Off-peak rate: 7.2p/kWh |
£1,991 |
EDF - EVolve Tracker Nov25 Variable, dual-fuel & electricity-only, new & existing customers |
Two-rate tariff with five off-peak hours, fixed until 31 October 2025 - Off-peak hours: 12am to 5am - Off-peak rate: 14.50p/kWh Exit fees of £25 per fuel. See full tariff details. |
£2,004 |
| Utility Warehouse - variable rate EV tariff | Two-rate tariff with five off-peak hours - Off-peak hours: 12am to 5am - Off-peak rate: 7p/kWh to 8.5p/kWh (depending on the number of other services you take) No exit fees. See full tariff details. |
£2,070 (cheaper if you have additional services) |
Ecotricity - One-year Fixed EV tariff Fixed, dual-fuel & electricity-only, new & existing customers |
Two-rate tariff with five off-peak hours - Off-peak hours: 12am to 5am (1am-6am when the clocks change for summer) - Off-peak rate: 8p/kWh You don’t actually have to own an EV to be eligible for this tariff, but Ecotricity recommend you use a high proportion of your energy overnight, such as for charging an EV. Exit fees of £100 per fuel. See full tariff details. |
£2,072 |
Good Energy - Fixed, electricity-only, existing customers only |
Two-rate tariff with five off-peak hours, fixed until 30 November 2025 - Off-peak hours: 12am to 5am - Off-peak rate: 6.75p/kWh Exit fees of £75 (elec-only). See full tariff details. |
£2,116 (2), (5) |
| Correct as of 11 November 2024 (we'll aim to update this each month). Based on typical dual-fuel use with an extra (52 x 38kWh = 1,976kWh/year) added for the EV. Standing charges for each tariff are similar - between 60p/day and the October Price Cap of 61p/day. (1) Where a tariff has off-peak and peak rates, we've assumed the EV will only be charged in off-peak hours. (2) This is an electricity-only tariff, so we've assumed the average price for gas is charged at the suppliers' standard variable tariff rates. (3) You can get an alternative tariff if you bought or buy or Podpoint home charger after 18 October 2023. The charger is discounted to £499, the off-peak rate is 8.49p/kWh but the average standing charges are £140.50/day, fixed for two years. (4) If you have a Hive home charger, and your EV is plugged in for six hours or more, British Gas will credit you 4p (2p if less than six hours) for every kWh of charge you use. (5) The tariff also comes with a free Premium subscription to Zapmap, usually £29.99/year or £2.99/month. | ||
The Agile Octopus Tracker tariff – prices change half-hourly based on wholesale rates
Octopus Energy has another tariff worth considering if you've got an electric vehicle, but it's not specifically an EV tariff. Agile Octopus is a variable tariff where the rates you pay for energy can change half hourly, based on wholesale prices, with rates typically cheaper overnight and during the middle of the day.
It's not right for everyone, but if you use the tariff the right way and take advantage of the off peak rates to charge your EV, it could mean big savings. We've full info in Should you fix? guide.
British Gas 'FreeCharge' – free charging if you have a Hive charger
British Gas has launched its FreeCharge scheme, offering new and existing customers up to 8,000 miles of free EV charging, if you buy a Hive home charger (you don't have to use British Gas to install it and you can't already have one).
You don't need to have a specific electricity tariff, but you do need to have a smart meter and activate the FreeCharge function in the Hive app. Your electricity bill will be credited according to the amount of energy you've used to charge your EV. You can find out more information on the Hive website.
In addition, if you have a Hive home charger, you can get up to 4p bill credit for every kWh of electricity you use to charge your car (you need need to be charging for six hours or more, otherwise the rate drops to 2p/kWh). This offer can be used with any of British Gas' electricity tariffs, not just its EV tariff.
How to calculate YOUR cheapest tariff (you'll usually have to do it manually)
Electric vehicle tariffs can be complex, and they generally don't appear on comparison sites, which makes it much harder to work out if they're a good or not. We've a few tips below on how to check.
If you do go for a fixed EV tariff, do remember to bear in mind any exit fees you'd need to pay to leave the tariff if prices started falling elsewhere and you wanted to ditch it.
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 electricity your EV will use. Work out how many kWh it'll take to charge your car for the mileage you'll likely do (check the car's stats online if you've not yet bought it).
- Work out how much it'd be on the EV tariff.
- Get overnight (or EV charging) rates for the EV tariff and multiply that by the amount you need to charge your 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).
- Work out how much it'd be on a regular tariff. Get a quote from suppliers for regular tariffs and put in your total use in (including EV use) and you'll see a a projected cost for the next year.
- 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 compare that to quotes you get elsewhere.
How to get an EV tariff – you'll usually need to be an existing customer
To sign up to an EV tariff, you'll usually need to go direct to the supplier, you won't be able switch via any comparison sites. What's more, most electric vehicle deals are only available to existing customers. If you're already with the firm you want an EV tariff from, then it's easy, but if not there's a few more steps involved:
If you're an existing customer, it's easy
If you're already with the supplier that's offering your EV tariff of choice, it's super-easy, just ask it to move you over to the EV tariff.
If you don't have a smart meter the supplier can read, you'll need to get one installed. This could take a few weeks, but once that's sorted you can be moved on to the EV tariff immediately.
If you're a new customer, you'll need to switch to a regular tariff first
If you're not currently with the supplier you want an EV tariff from, there's a few things you'll need to before you can be moved on to it:
- Step 1: Switch to a regular tariff with the firm that's offering your EV tariff. Make sure you pick its cheapest deal, as you're likely to be on this for a few weeks. However, due to the energy crisis, most firms only offer their standard variable tariff right now,
Once you've switched to it, then you'll need to ask it to switch you to the EV tariff – you can either contact it by phone or email, or some will let you request it through your online account.
- Step 2: Get a smart meter installed if you don't already have one. Most EV tariffs rely on smart meters to work, so the supplier can track your use throughout the day and offer cheaper night-time rates.
So you'll need to wait until your supplier can arrange installation before you can move across to the EV tariff. If you already have smart meters, you may still need to wait a few weeks while your supplier connects to your meters.
Once your smart meters are installed and your supplier is receiving readings from them, you should be moved across to the EV tariff.
Some EV tariffs are for electricity-only, so don't forget to sort your gas tariff
If your EV tariff is an electricity-only tariff, don't forget to sort out your gas tariff. It's likely you'll need to remain on the standard variable tariff for your gas, either with your existing firm or with the EV tariff provider.
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What is smart charging?
Smart charging is a way of automatically charging your EV when national demand for electricity is lower (such as at night), when there's lots of renewable energy on the grid or when energy rates are cheaper (depending on what tariff you're on).
You can let your smart charger work out the best time to charge, or schedule it to complete charging by a particular time or to a specified battery level. It's all controlled via an app that connects to your charger, or you can control it on the charge point itself.
You can always override smart charging at anytime. There's usually an option on your charge point or app that lets you charge immediately.
Combine a smart charger with an EV tariff to cut electricity bills
Smart charging can help you save on your electricity bill, if you combine it with a special EV tariff that offers lower off-peak electricity rates. Just make sure to schedule your smart charger to take advantage of the cheaper overnight rates.
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