Octopus Energy has launched the UK’s first mass-market vehicle-to-grid (V2G) tariff, which provides drivers with free charging.
The Octopus Power Pack tariff, which is currently in beta, uses V2G technology and Octopus Energy’s tech platform, Kraken to determine when vehicles should be charged and uncharged to benefit the grid.
This enables cars to be charged with green electricity during off-peak times, with energy then being exported back to the grid when needed.
For users that plug in their electric car for at least 170 hours each month and stay below the usage limit of 333kWh per month (around 12,000 miles a year), Octopus is guaranteeing free charging on this tariff.
An average electric car that drives 10,000 miles each year would thus save more than 850 GBP a year in charging costs compared to charging on a standard variable tariff.
The process is automated for drivers on the Octopus Power Pack tariff as long as they plug in their car for roughly 6 hours a day.
Alex Schoch, Head of Flexibility at Octopus Energy, said:We recently moved past a million EVs on UK roads – a major milestone – but their true power for storing energy remains untapped. Once we reach 10 million electric cars on the road, we’ll have enough storage to power the entirety of Great Britain during peak times. All our drivers have to do is plug in regularly and their charging is completely free.
EVs are going to be a major lever in our future flexible, green grid, but to get there we need to unlock the capabilities of their batteries. Now we have Octopus Power Pack, it’s over to car manufacturers to build the cars that are compatible with V2G technology.
Octopus Power Pack is available to drivers with V2G-compatible electric cars and chargers in the UK.
Currently, only a limited number of models have this capability but manufacturers such as Volvo have announced that V2G-ready models will be rolled out soon.
Customers can register to join the tariff here. It works as a bolt-on that separates charging from home power costs.
