E.ON has announced plans to acquire UK energy provider OVO Energy, in a deal that could signal a major shift in how UK households, and EV drivers in particular, interact with the grid.
The acquisition, which is still subject to regulatory approval, brings together two of some of the largest UK residential energy suppliers, putting smart and flexible energy at the centre of E.ON’s energy strategy. For EV drivers in particular, this acquisition could bring significant benefits to domestic charging opportunities.
E.ON’s EV-specific energy tariffs have already been building the foundations for allowing EVs to play a more integral role in the energy ecosystem, with the opportunity for users to benefit from much more affordable charging during off-peak hours, along with smart charging capabilities. With the addition of OVO’s significant existing customer base, this acquisition would dramatically increase the scale at which these tools can operate, potentially bringing down costs further for EV drivers.
The deal also includes a continuation of the Kaluza energy intelligence platform, which not only underpins OVO’s billing, customer management, and product development, but also allows complex interactions between customers, devices, and the grid to take place – exactly what’s needed in an EV-centric future.
That’s where vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology enters the wider picture of E.ON’s acquisition of OVO. By allowing an EV to push power back into the grid during times of high demand or low renewable supply, a fleet of V2G-capable EVs managed through a platform like Kaluza could effectively act as a distributed power station. For the driver, this could mean further savings on their EV charging and home energy bills.
E.ON also says it will evaluate rolling Kaluza out across its wider European operations, in a sign of how seriously it is treating this technology stack.
Chris Norbury, CEO of E.ON UK, commented:
“For decades the UK energy system focused too much on those upstream. Now is our opportunity to change that. Solar, batteries, EVs and a retailer built to orchestrate. That is what this deal is about: customers in control and new energy that works for everyone.”
