The electricity provider Octopus Energy has announced it is to provide a new tariff that allows electric vehicle owners to charge up their cars for free.
Octopus Power Pack is a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) home charger, meaning electric car drivers can supply energy stored in the battery pack back to the grid.
Alex Schoch, Head of Flexibility at Octopus noted that utilising the energy already stored in EV batteries could have benefits as the number of electric cars on the roads rises.
He explained: “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 is plug in regularly and their charging is completely free.”
Octopus Energy noted that motorists on this tariff should plug their electric car into the home charger for about six hours each day.
The charger is automated, allowing it to successfully charge up during off-peak times and provide extra energy back to the grid when it is needed.
However, whilst the new tariff is available to more than 200,000 customers with an electric car, not all models on the road have V2G technology fitted.
For a wider range of electric vehicle owners to benefit from the new tariff, Alex called for more companies to implement compatible technology into their models.
He added: “EVs are going to be a major lever in our future flexible, green gride, 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.”
Currently, only a small number of electric vehicles are fitted with V2G technology, including the Nissan Leaf, Cupra Born and the Mitsubishi Outlander.
Motorists who are interested in joining the tariff can apply via a form on the Octopus Energy website, with the company stating that it can help them save £880 per year compared to their Flexible policy.
Owners of non-V2G compatible electric vehicles may not be able to get free charging, though it is often possible to plug devices into the car’s battery, which can provide energy in a power cut or when travelling.
