Time of use tariffs generating unprecedented interest in energy

Time of use tariffs have generated a level of interest in energy never before seen with customers, the chief executive of Octopus Electric Vehicles has said.

Fiona Howarth was speaking to Utility Week after it was revealed that electric vehicle (EV) drivers using Octopus Energy’s Agile tariff and an Ohme charger were paid to charge their vehicles over the bank holiday weekend.

The Agile tariff charges customers based on wholesale prices which were negative last weekend as a result of lower electricity demand, coupled with strong winds and sunshine resulting in more renewable power available.

Periods of negative pricing are occurring more frequently, with prices being negative for more than 12 hours on 23 May. This resulted in drivers being paid up to 11p per kWh used.

Howarth said: “I think there has been a lot of excitement and interest around the Agile and Go tariffs. On Twitter for example, it’s a level of interest that we have not seen before in energy and people that are literally looking at their energy prices and posting on their Twitter feeds or other social media channels what they are going to be doing at different times of day because their energy is going to be cheap or even if it’s going to be negative.”

Howarth said now that consumers are powering their cars with electricity they are starting to become more engaged with tangible aspects such as how much it costs per kWh and what time is the cheapest to do so.

She added that the fact EV drivers by nature are usually the “first movers” with technology such as smart tariffs means they will encourage friends and family to do the same.

“I think this is a snapshot of what it could look like in the future and how popular it could be longer term,” she said.

Octopus partnered with Ohme in March last year. The technology enables drivers to charge their vehicles at times when prices are predicted to be lower. Ohme will turn the charging on-and-off throughout the day or night to minimise the costs and allow customers take advantage of lower energy prices.

One driver, for example, was ​paid £4.51 to charge up his Tesla Model 3 with enough electricity to drive over 650 miles – which would have cost over £100 in an equivalent petrol car, a BMW 3 series.

Howarth also said that the lockdown has resulted in an uptick of enquiries about EVs with her sales teams, with more people becoming conscious of the cleaner air as a result of fewer vehicles on the road. She added that around 40,000 people die every year prematurely because of air pollution, which for the moment is slightly more than those by Covid-19.

“People are starting to really appreciate the fact that there is much less air pollution, so we are getting interest from people who say if they are going to be getting back in cars, they want to do it in a clean way,” she said.

Meanwhile David Watson chief executive and founder of Ohme, said:​“Smart charging is obviously great news for EV drivers, reducing the total cost of owning an EV significantly by passing on energy cost savings. As well as being a more efficient cleaner mode of transport, EVs will have a profound positive impact on the grid, unlocking value by cheaply shifting demand to times where there is an excess of renewable energy on the system.”

Elsewhere in the sector, challenger brand Good Energy has announced a partnership with Cambridge-based software provider Jumptech to help with its EV charging for business offering One Point.

Jumptech’s platform will allow prospective customers to carry out a self-survey of their business premises ahead of installing EV chargers. The technology allows the capture of business details, site information, and photos.

Good Energy hopes the tool will lower costs and streamline customer experience.

Juliet Davenport, Good Energy’s chief executive, said: “Good Energy believes in partnerships, bringing the best companies out there to deliver innovative propositions for our customers.

“Jumptech fits that brief: innovative; intelligent; and passionate about the zero-carbon economy. Their new platform is a unique resource and will offer our One Point electric vehicle charging product to more businesses investing in zero carbon transport.”

Founder of Jumptech, Phil Nunn said: “We’re delighted to be supporting Good Energy, assisting with their One Point EV proposition and looking forward to helping them to scale their EV offerings as the market grows.”