- Octopus Energy has launched the UK’s first vehicle-to-grid tariff, named the ‘Power Pack’: creating a new ecosystem of EVs as a renewable energy battery storage ecosystem.
- This solution will automatically charge up your EV at the cheapest and greenest times, then discharging the EV’s battery back into the grid at times of demand – and this agreement means Octopus will let you charge your EV for free.
- The new scheme is in a beta stage at the moment, with just a handful of EVs compatible – but that’s set to change in the coming months.
Free EV charging in return for offering up your car to the grid
Octopus Energy launched its Power Pack solution earlier this week, with the company estimating that it could save the average V2G driver up to £880 per year – that’s for an EV driven roughly 10,000 miles per year. There are some criteria that need to be met to support the grid and benefit from this offer of free charging – drivers must charge less than 333kWh per month – equivalent to approximately 1,200 miles of EV driving – and stay plugged in at home for at least 12 hours.
Though one criticism of V2G is drivers being left short of charge on spontaneous journeys, Octopus Energy will allow customers to set a minimum state of charge – though this must be set to no more than 30%.
The list of EVs compatible right now is limited to Nissan’s Leaf and e-NV200 models, and the Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid, but Octopus stresses that the expandability of the scheme relies on OEMs integrating bidirectional charging into their models. Tesla plans to bring the ability to its vehicles in 2025, while Hyundai and Kia are two big players also planning to support the solution. Those interested in signing up to the plan, even if their EV is not on the list just yet, can sign up for more information here.
