Hi all. I have been holding off signing up for a new energy tariff as I waited for my electric car to land. It has now so I plan to switch providers to one that offers a EV tariff.

Who are others using, what’s the best deal? I see British Gas have a specific tariff but imagine they’re not the cheapest?

I’m about to switch to the octopus agile tariff. This is a variable pricing tariff that tracks wholesale pricing every 30 minutes. It should give me 5p/kWh overnight and at plenty of other day times too. I already have a compatible smart meter. What you got? This may affect your choice

Firstly i’d like pm you with my code to share £100? if that’s ok?
2nd apply for Octopus agile or Octopus Go which ever suits you (you can change later anyway)
3rd they’ll put you on an interim tariff which you immediately need to email them an ask to be swapped onto Octopus Tracker tariff as an interim
all these are cheaper than anything else you’ll get
NB you’ll need to have a smart meter installed

EDIT sorry just seen that goldfish has the meter already

the temporary tariff they put you on is Octopus 12M Fixed which I was put on @ £35 pm, I emailed them to swap to Octopus Tracker v1 and my monthly payments went to £25pm. You have to ask for it. Then it’s just a waiting game for your meter to be installed. If you already have a secure smart meter then you go onto Agile / Go tariff pretty much straightaway

I like Octopus Agile but we don’t do big miles so I just charge up when it’s cheap (some nights it won’t go very low, sometimes it’s very low or negative). Very low daytime rates are the biggest draw really, and it’s easy for us to avoid the 4-7pm peak time.

If you do a big commute, aren’t at home in the day then one of the others with a fixed overnight cheap time may work out better.

For further info Zap Map have a list of the EV specific tariffs
https://www.zap-map.com/charge-points/ev-energy-tariffs/

Agile isn’t on the list as it’s not EV specific, but it’s the one to go for if you are able to be flexible with the times of day you use electric (basically outside 4-7pm as simon_g says).
There’s Agile price tracker apps you can download which are quite useful, you just need to know your region. Or view most recent prices here https://www.energy-stats.uk/octopus-agile/ just select your region. So my price right now at 2.20pm 30/6/20 is 5.88ppkwh (not sure if that incl or excl vat). I think the Octopus Agile standing charge will be about the same as Octopus Tracker V1 which is 18.06ppday (excl vat).

Thanks both, great info. I’m in Skipton so not far from you right Nana?

Won’t be doing huge miles, probably a couple of charges a week and charging time can be flexible. We do have people in the house most days, especially as my wife is currently working from home so I guess an allrounder is a good idea.

Oh, I we have a British Gas Start Meter but have not used it for a couple of years as we switched to E.On then EDF but didn’t get eithers meter.

Yes (for some reason I thought you were Harrogate).

It’s dead easy to swap between Agile and Go so you can trial both and then swap back to whichever works out best, no penalties.

If it’s a Secure meter then you’re sorted (I think that’s Secure rather than secure). Otherwise you might need to take advice from Octopus (I would contact them anyway, don’t take any advice from me on smart meters).

Also as an aside, Airedale Hospital, Market Street Keighley, Bingley Train Stn, Otley, Shipley all have free to vend (until Oct 2021) Engie 50kw public chargers. I use Airedale Hosp. quite a bit and there’s a shop just inside the door nearby. there’s also one planned at Keighley Sports Centre just off the main trunk rd and possibly Silsden.

I believe Skipton Morrisons have just got a Geniepoint, but it’s not free (and according to zap-map just now, it’s broken already)

Cheers mate, might have a run over to Airedale then 😉

Work in Harrogate so you were not wrong.

Oh, and the Mozzer one is defo not free, you need some sort of account.

You’ll still need to set up an account for the free Engie chargers as well, even tho they’re free. website is ev.engie.co.uk It’s a web app so you’ll have to set up a short cut on your phone. Then you just log in and start your charge. Any issues, phone them to start the charger and/or you can get them to set up a debit card to use to activate the charger via the screen as a back-up (at Airedale Hosp. my EE data signal can be a bit flaky sometimes).

I’m now on Octopus agile and it’s much cheaper for all round electricity use but particularly the EV if you avoid the 4pm to 7pm when rates go up to or just above those charged by most electricity suppliers.
Had a Smart meter put in by Ovo last year on a fixed tariff and was just purgatory watching the pounds mount up charging the EV and not being able to do anything about it. Now I just use the OctopusWatch app which tells me the cheapest time period to charge the car. The best thing is when the agile rate goes negative which it did on Sunday. Used 34kWh charging the car, roasting a chicken in the electric oven, did all the washing and a bit of tumble drying (because they were paying me to use electricity) and was only charged 29p. Am currently saving between 23 and 95% per day what I was paying before.

Another vote for Octopus.
I am on Octopus GO since we got an EV and it works fine.
Octopus seem to be doing some interesting and different things with tarrif and supply which I like.
Too late wut8the referral code 🙁

Enjoy your £50 devbrix 🙂

I was holding out for a month to avoid the £30 exit fee on Ovo, but given I’m haemorrhaging money paying them to charge the EV since I’m no longer using the free charger at the office I no longer go to, and I’m about to have my boiler removed for a week and live off the immersion heater, I’m quids in switching early.

And I’ve already got a sonoff wifi switch wired up to the immersion heater and should be able to use IFTT to turn it on whenever the agile price is low or negative, giving me virtually free hot water and avoiding firing the oil boiler.

Cheers Goldfish24!