The cheapest and greenest EV tariffs available now

Over the last year sales of EV’s have shot through the roof. While some of these will rely solely on the public infrastructure, most EV owners will want to utilise their own energy supply to keep their cars juiced.

It’s estimated that two-thirds of households have a driveway, so that could be tens of millions of people with the option to install a chargepoint at their home. However, to get it working well, you will need a specially designed ‘EV’ tariff. These have become very popular in the past year and providers have rushed to create competitive offers.

In short, these tariffs work in tandem with a smart meter, home charger and often mobile app. This means you can benefit from tariff optimisation (e.g. get cheaper rates at night), scheduling, and even use your own energy supply, such as from solar panels.

Finding a good tariff can be financially very rewarding. According to the Citizens Advice Bureau, some people could be paying from £811 to £1,442 annually on charging their EV. This shows that there’s savings to be had!

However, which is the best one right now that’s also going to help the environment?

To help you, here is our list of the cheapest and greenest EV energy tariffs available today:

1: Octopus Energy

Octopus is one of the most popular EV tariff providers in the UK. The company offers two tariffs that can make life for EV owners very cheap.

The standard EV tariff is Octopus Go. It offers motorists 5p/kWh between 12.30am and 4.30am every night. Outside that, the rate is 13.33p/kWh.

Their other tariff is Octopus Agile. It’s a little bit more intense. Agile offers customers cheaper rates when no one else is using the grid - you can even get paid to take electricity in some circumstances. Octopus provides people half hourly updates about when there is going to be a lower price and caps all rates at 35p/kWh. This process can save hundreds of pounds a year, but it’s a lot of effort to keep track of it all.

All Octopus Energy tariffs use 100% renewable energy, which includes electricity they’ve generated.

Learn more about Octopus’ EV tariff.

2: Good Energy

Only in the last few months, Good Energy has launched a new tariff for EV owners. It’s called Green Driver and offers customers two overnight off-peak periods each week to charge their EV at a cheaper rate.

The cost for this tariff depends on how long you want your two off-peak nights to be. If you opt for a five-hour period, it will be 5p per kWh during that period. However, if you normally charge your car for longer, a seven-hour period is available at 7p per kWh. Outside your two weekly off-peak periods, the cost for charging will be around 15p per kWh depending on usage and your location.

In terms of their supply, Good Energy is 100% renewable getting electricity from over 1,600 independent generators.

Learn more about Good Energy’s EV tariff.

3: EDF

Depending on where you live, EDF’s GoElectric single-rate tariff costs from just 13.75p per kWh all day. However, if you have a smart meter, you can pick one of two tariffs that offer off-peak rates.

The first is called GoElectric 35. It comes with five hours off-peak charging daily between 12am to 5am at a cost of just 4.5p/kWh. That’s the cheapest rate around. During peak hours, the rate is 15.96p/kWh.

EDF also offers GoElectric 98. It comes with off-peak charging every weekday 9pm to 7am GMT and all weekend. It costs just 9p/kWh off-peak hours and from 18.06p/kWh during peak hours.

It’s not entirely clear why they are called ‘35’ and ‘98’ but EDF are clear that it’s 100% renewable energy.

Learn more about EDF’s EV tariff.

$: OVO Energy

OVO has just revealed a new super competitive EV tariff called Drive + Anytime. It’s quite simple, EV customers will only ever get charged 5p per kWh no matter what time they plug-in. This is much better than other providers who keep people’s use of low rates to off-peak periods. Though, to use this tariff you will need a smart charger.

OVO can offer such a low tariff because they are using an AI tool to automatically optimise customer’s cars to charge during times of low energy demand, when emissions and prices are also low. They claim this could save EV owners £100 each year. 

Not only saving you money, OVO’s tariff is also produced from 100% renewable sources.

Learn more about OVO’s EV tariff.

5: E.ON

A bit like OVO, E.ON offers a slightly higher off-peak rate of 11.55p/kWh. But, it lasts between 12:30am and 7:30am each day. Plus, like OVO, you can use it for 49 hours per week. The peak rate is 21.91p/kWh.

E.ON doesn’t offer loads of free stuff but you will receive 850 bonus miles from them after 6 months. All energy supplied by E.ON is 100% renewable.

Learn more about EON’s EV tariff.

6: Ecotricity

Ecotricity is a real green company which proudly boasts of being backed by groups like Friends of the Earth. Naturally, all their energy comes from 100% renewable sources. 20% of it actually comes from energy Ecotricity themselves have produced.

In terms of their rates, Ecotricity offer’s EV drivers a ‘Fully Charged’ tariff. The off-peak rate is around 11.52p/kWh between 12:00am and 7:00am each day and the peak rate is 18.69p / kWh. Though, these vary depending on where you are.

Learn more about Ecotricity’s EV tariff.

Important note 1: All tariffs include a standard charge to ‘connect’ you EV to power. These vary from 15p up to 40p across different suppliers.

Important note 2: Tariff rates may change depending on where you live. All the tariffs used here are sourced from suppliers and trusted information sources.

Data correct at time of publication: 31/08/2021