Drivers of electric vehicles can offset some of the latest rise in electricity prices by ensuring that they are on a smart energy tariff when they charge, says leading smart charging company Ohme.

With the market regulator Ofgem having announced a rise in the energy price cap last week, many households are under increasing financial pressures. However, drivers of electric vehicles can offset some of the effects of that rise by switching to one of the many off-peak tariffs available for charging their electric vehicles.

With the Standard Variable Tariff rising from 28p/kWh to 52p/kWh on 1 October and due to rise again in January, it’s now even more important for EV drivers to ensure that they charge their cars on an off-peak tariff such as Octopus Intelligent.

“EV drivers should switch to an off-peak tariff for their home charging to ensure that they’re reducing some of the impact of this latest rise in electricity prices,” explains Ohme CEO, David Watson. “Speak to your existing electricity supplier and find out if they offer an off-peak tariff, if they don’t then switch to a provider that does to get the full savings of running an electric vehicle.”

With the average UK driver covering 6800 miles a year, charging on an off-peak tariff in a typical EV would cost just £127.50 with Octopus Intelligent at 7.5p/kWh. At the current Standard Variable Tariff of 28p/kWh, that same annual mileage would cost £476, while the forthcoming new price cap of 52p/kWh will cost £884– more than six times more than with an off-peak tariff.

Ohme’s Home Pro smart charger can connect with the national grid in real time and automatically adjust its charging for drivers to take advantage of all the times of low price charging with smart off-peak tariffs. Ohme also offers drivers the option to charge their car when renewable energy generation on the National Grid is at its highest, further lowering their CO₂ impact.

Ohme is the official charger provider for customers on the Motability scheme, the largest UK fleet operator in the UK, and has been named as the Best Electric Charging Point Provider by Business Motoring and voted number one for customer service in Auto Express magazine’s 2022 Driver Power survey.