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Gloucestershire Business News

Leccy price drop: could your annual EV commute cost less than £130?

Data crunched by the UK's leading smart charging platform for electric cars suggests lower tariffs on domestic electricity from April 1 are set to deliver a significant windfall for business drivers who have made the switch away from petrol and diesel wheels.

As announced by energy regulator Ofgem in February, the price for energy consumed by a typical household using electricity and gas by direct debit is set to drop to £1,690 per year from next week – the previous price cap for the first quarter of this year having been set at £1,928.

Assessing the implications for EV drivers who charge at home and use overnight tariffs as offered by market heavy-hitter Octopus, home charger supplier Ohme - which is the official platform for Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Polestar and the Volkswagen in the UK - said a savvy consumer's annual energy cost could now scrape in at just under £130.

David Watson, founder and CEO of Ohme, told Punchline-Gloucester.com: "The savings compared to public chargers are now huge and, given the potential boost to staff and employers, we are encouraging fleets to provide their drivers with home chargers."

Even among drivers connecting their cars through a variable tariff, Mr Watson said that with standard variable prices dropping to 24.5p/kWh from April 1, drivers plugging into cheaper overnight tariffs at home could make dramatic savings - with the financial boost being even more dramatic when measured against on-the-road charging using rapid CCS tech. Prices for CCS charging are now averaging close to 75p/kWh.

Ohme's calculations for the impact of the new Standard Variable Tariff were based on a typical EV covering 6,800 miles of driving (the UK annual average). That distance equated to £417.00, but if using a smart EV tariff such as Intelligent Octopus Go, charging for the the same mileage would cost just £127.50. In stark contrast, the same distance in a petrol car, based on the average litre price of £1.43, would cost more than £1,100.

Mr Watson added: "While the Standard Variable Tariff drops, we are encouraging those same drivers to make even bigger savings by switching to a smart EV tariff."

He urged EV drivers to check with their supplier for a special rate: "If not, then they should consider switching to an energy provider that does to enjoy even bigger savings of running an EV."

● Ohme installs "dynamic smart chargers" which can connect with the grid in real time, automatically adjusting to optimise the cost of charging and accessing all the times of the smartest, greenest and lowest cost energy tariffs.

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