POLL OF THE DAY: Would you buy an electric vehicle? YOUR VERDICT

Electric vehicle owners could claim 'free charging'
PA
Oliver Trapnell

By Oliver Trapnell


Published: 20/02/2024

- 05:00

Updated: 20/02/2024

- 21:58

Electric vehicle owners could be granted ‘free charging’

Electric vehicle owners could save on cash after Octopus Energy offered motorists free charging in a revolutionary new scheme.

Car owners who resell the power from their vehicle batteries back to the grid during peak hours will be able to benefit from the scheme and could save as much as £850 a year in charging costs.


Octopus Energy hopes that the scheme will help motorists save money compared to charging on a standard variable tariff.

The guaranteed free charging is part of a new mass market vehicle-to-grid tariff (V2G) launched by the energy group.

POLL OF THE DAY: Would you buy an electric vehicle? YOUR VERDICT

POLL OF THE DAY: Would you buy an electric vehicle? YOUR VERDICT

GB News

Although the tariff is still in its early development phase, it is expected to inform drivers of when it’s best for the grid to charge.

In an exclusive poll for GB News membership readers, 78 per cent of those polled would buy an electric vehicle while just 21 per cent would not buy one. One per cent were undecided.

Alex Schoch, head of flexibility at Octopus Energy, said: "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 do is plug in regularly and their charging is completely free.”

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Drivers will need to plug in their car for more than 170 hours each month to receive the benefit, roughly equating to six hours a day.

Schoch added: “EVs are going to be a major lever in our future flexible, green grid, 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.”

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