Octopus Energy has launched ‘Plunge Pricing’ for public electric vehicle (EV) charging, a scheme designed to reduce costs for drivers when green energy is abundant.
This initiative allows EV drivers in Britain to benefit from cheaper public charging during periods of high renewable energy generation and low demand.
‘Plunge Pricing’ events occur when wholesale electricity prices drop due to an excess of renewable energy.
During these times, drivers using Octopus’ Electroverse network can receive discounts ranging from 15% to 45% per kWh.
In the future, there may even be opportunities for drivers to get paid to charge their cars when prices go negative.
Octopus has trialled this scheme at over 7,500 charge points across various brands, including IONITY, Osprey, Blink, Be.EV, GeniePoint and Raw.
Hundreds of customers have participated, saving an average of £6.50 per charge.
Octopus predicts dozens more ‘Plunge Pricing’ events over the next year, with plans to extend the service to more charge point brands.
This could result in annual savings of up to £250 for drivers, the company said.
Matt Davies, Director of Octopus Electroverse, said: “This is a massive milestone: for the first time drivers can power up and pay less on the public charging network when green energy’s abundant.
“It isn’t your average discount – it’s revolutionising public charging and something that could never be done with petrol. We are geared up to work with more charge point brands so we can bring this to even more people.”
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