Major international energy supplier EDF has launched a new tariff for electric vehicle (EV) drivers, which it says is the cheapest on the market.
The Evolve Sep25 electricity tariff gives users five hours of off-peak energy overnight for both their home and car, priced 10p lower than the standard variable tariff, with the day rate the same as the standard variable tariff. Notably, the tariff is available to all EV drivers, regardless of the make and model of their EV or charger.
“As Britain’s biggest generator of zero-carbon electricity, we want to make it as easy as possible for customers to drive electric and help cut Britain’s carbon emissions with us.” said Rich Hughes, director of retail at EDF.
“By charging up with our new tariff, drivers can reduce their CO2 emissions from their vehicle to zero, as well as saving £200 a year on their bills, whatever the make or model of their EV.
“Some EV tariffs negatively impact customers based on their daytime home usage and they can end up worse off. EVolve is a penalty-free EV tariff that benefits customers who charge off-peak, with the peace of mind of no premium peak prices during the day.”
The news follows the French company’s launch last week of a one-year tracker tariff for domestic gas and electricity supply to retail customers which is set at £50 below the Ofgem energy price cap.
EDF, EVs, and tariffs
With the surging popularity of EVs, the price of charging has been an increasing focus of public interest. Research by energy analytics and consultancy firm LCP Delta recently found that British EV drivers pay 74% more on average for charging than drivers in France or Norway.
In response, several energy suppliers have been introducing special pricing and new tariffs for EV drivers in recent months.
Last month, the UK’s biggest energy supplier Octopus Energy, rolled out a new scheme wherein EV drivers can access cheaper public EV charging when there is a high supply of cheap renewable power on the grid, coupled with low demand. During these “plunge pricing” events, EV drivers will be able to access charging stations at discounts of between 15-45%.
Meanwhile, EDF has recently launched a new price cap forecasting tool for all UK consumers, which provides weekly updates to the price cap forecast to allow consumers to track the most up-to-date energy costs.