EV drivers urged to choose right tariff for home charging

Company car drivers charging an electric vehicle (EV) at home could save up to £1,250 a year by choosing the right tariff, says Rightcharge.co.uk.

With energy prices rising in the UK from 01 April 2021, many households will be paying larger electricity utility bills, including those drivers who charge their company vehicles at home.

However, the vehicle home charger and energy comparison site says that this is the perfect opportunity for fleet drivers to find more generously priced EV-friendly energy tariffs that cover charging for fully-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles - providing a combined home and vehicle charge saving on household energy costs.

For example, a fleet driver covering 20,000 miles annually would expect to pay £2,344 on a standard variable tariff from one of the big six energy suppliers, which would include both household energy use and £1,300 for the charging of the vehicle.

From April that total will increase to £2,599 a year, including £1,454 for charging the same car, representing an annual price increase faced by the driver of £154 for just the charging alone, potentially impacting any financial benefit-in-kind (BIK) taxation gains drivers may have gained from swapping from a conventional diesel car to an EV.

Yet users who switch to a lower-cost alternative EV energy tariff on or after April 1, could find themselves paying only £1,349 a year - with the charging element representing just £459 of that amount – says Rightcharge.

This represents a massive saving of £995 on charging a vehicle at home, with an additional £255 saved on household energy bills. That’s a total saving of £1,250 a year.

Charlie Cook, founder of Rightcharge, said: “EV-friendly energy tariffs are so incredibly cheap in comparison to a standard tariff, that a homeowner can actually start charging their car at home and reduce their total energy bill at the same time - effectively getting from A to B for free.

“A fleet driver doing 20,000 miles per year can save £1,250. That’s a huge saving EV fleet drivers could be making by simply switching.”

Rightcharge allows users to compare EV-friendly energy tariffs by taking their car into account as well as their home, helping customers to minimise costs for running EVs - plus special payment available for fleets. Rightcharge also helps users to select the correct charger for vehicle and home offering.

Cook said: “We want to help drivers minimise their EV costs - and we suspect many just don’t realise what they can save. Our price comparison website points them in the right direction.”