Octopus Energy has added a new electric vehicle (EV) charging network to its roaming service Electric Juice.
Engenie – which operates over 150 rapid charging stations at over 100 UK locations – is the latest to come on board to the service.
Its charging locations, including London’s first rapid charging hub, will now be included in the Electric Juice network, with Octopus stating that with this addition the network now has “significant” inner-city and on-the-road coverage.
This follows on from the launch of the Beta version in May, which saw Char.gy be the first to join the network, which allows drivers to pay with their Octopus Energy account across both Char.gy and Engenie’s networks.
This is to be expanded across other charging locations as more networks are added, Octopus said, helping to eradicate the often-cited barrier to electrification of different networks requiring different apps and payment cards.
Electric Juice consolidates costs onto a single bill, with director of Octopus Energy for Business, Zoisa Walton, told Current± in June that this was a particular problem for fleet operators that Octopus thought was a “super interesting challenge”.
Electric Juice was originally launched as a collection of tariffs for transportation businesses, including fleets and charge point networks. Those tariffs are still available, with the roaming service another string to Electric Juice’s bow.
Commenting on the addition of Engenie, Walton stated: “Each time a partner joins the network we get a step closer to creating the effortless charging system that current EV drivers want, potential EV drivers need and the decarbonisation of our roads demands.”
The Electric Juice service is open to all drivers of electric cars, regardless of if they are already an Octopus Energy customer.
Ian Johnston, CEO of Engenie, said that whilst Engenie “will always offer tap-and-go payment on our rapid chargers” connecting the network to Electric Juice will offer drivers the “unique and added benefit” of paying for charging on their home electricity bill.
“We believe this is a crucial step towards providing a totally seamless experience for EV drivers that allows them to choose the best way for them to access and pay for charging.”
