July 28th, 2023
EV Drivers should pay the least for electricity
If you drive an EV, you should always pay less for energy
Here's what you need to know: Octopus Energy's Octo 12 for EVs plan saves you an average of $744 annually compared to other popular EV plans on the market.
Intelligent Octopus for EVs offers something our competitors don't: the lowest energy rate for EV charging with seamless charging schedules that fit your life.
Shopping for an energy plan can be time-consuming enough, without adding in the extra step of getting something that takes your EV into consideration. So we broke down the most popular EV charging plans in Texas and how they stack up against each other. Check it out.
To help you compare existing EV plans vs Octopus, we examined our regional competitors’ plans, comparing on a per kWh basis and including incentives.
Here are our competitors’ plans based on an average of 2,000 kWh monthly energy consumption:
Octopus Energy EV plans vs. the rest
| Provider | Plan | Term | Price per kWh | Monthly cost | Annual cost | Dollars per month more than Octopus | Dollars per year more than Octopus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Octopus Energy | Octo 12 with Intelligent Octopus for EVs | 12 | 13.3¢ | $266 | $3,192 | X | X |
| Rhythm Energy | Rhythm Energy Simply Drive | 12 | 15.2¢ | $304 | $3,648 | $38 | $456 |
| Reliant Energy | Electric Vehicle 12 Plan | 12 | 17.5¢ | $350 | $4,200 | $84 | $1,008 |
| Reliant Energy | EV Charger 24 Plan | 24 | 17.5¢ | $350 | $4,200 | $84 | $1,008 |
| Chariot Energy | EV Ride 24 | 24 | 14.5¢ | $290 | $3,480 | $24 | $288 |
| Green Mountian Energy | Rate 72 - Residential Off-Peak Electric Vehicle Service | X | Off-peak 17.9¢ | $358 | $4,296 | $92 | $1,104 |
| Ohm Connect | EVConnect 12 | 12 | 15.8¢ | $316 | $3,792 | $50 | $600 |
Rates and plans are current as of November 7th, 2023. Monthly and yearly savings based on average monthly usage of 2,000 kWh in CenterPoint
Want to try Octopus Energy?
Here's what you should take away from this table:
- We take uncertainty out of the equation for the customer - As mentioned above, customers shouldn’t be expected to use formulas to calculate their blended rate for an EV plan. It should be straightforward and clear what you’re getting. Period.
- Customer gets a firm price, not variable based on average usage. When you enroll your EV, you get the price quoted that day. No variables. No questions. Just energy at a great price!
- Ours is simply cheaper - the numbers are the proof in the pudding.
What about incentives?
If you investigate the plans offering incentives, you may be compelled to select them. However, when you zoom out, look at the price per kWh, and factor in incentives, a much different story is painted.
These incentives and “add-ons” such as chargers, cheaper nightly rates, or credits lock you into a significantly higher market rate. Compared to our competitor's EV plans– even when including these incentives–we are a shocking 20-30% cheaper when calculating your whole home energy price!
How our pricing works vs our competitors
EV Plans today are typically Time-of-use
Time-of-use (TOU) plans These plans offer different rates for electricity depending on the time of day. They are typically defined as on- and off-peak. Off-peak is cheaper, and on-peak is more expensive. These rates are blended (and based on expected energy consumption during off-peak). You get a “blended” rate by combining the two rates with a formula that typically looks something like this:
Price per kWh = ( (Monthly billed Peak kWh usage x Energy Charge Peak) + (Monthly billed Off-Peak kWh usage x Energy Charge Off-Peak) + ( TDU Energy Delivery Charges))/ Monthly billed kWh usage
Even we don’t like working through these types of formulas! And if you consume more energy during off-peak for whatever reason, prepare to pay! TOUs certainly aren’t flexible and require you to do some significant work tracking your usage.
Here's an example of a competitor’s Time of Use (TOU) plan that includes a charger!
At 2,000 kWh a month average consumption, the chargers will cost customers $960 over the 2-year contract… vs $400 on Amazon for the Emporia Level 2 Charger. The discount hours represent a savings of roughly 15% vs the on-peak hours (this information can be found on the EFL (Electricity Facts Label)… But the blended all-in cost for 12 month product with no charger, (apples to apples with our offering) is 14.2 cents vs our 11 cents… so our EV plan is at least 23% cheaper!
Benefits of using intelligent charging with Intelligent Octopus
Intelligent Octopus offers a variety of benefits, including:
- Lower electricity rates: We offer some of the lowest–100% renewable–electricity rates in the industry, so you can save money charging your EV.
- Flexible charging: You can choose when and how you charge your EV, so you can take advantage of off-peak rates and save even more money.
- Easy billing: We offer simple and easy-to-understand billing. No need to track your usage to make sure your rate doesn’t go through the roof.
Our aim is for EV drivers to pay less for their whole home consumption than any other electricity plan on the market! If you're an EV driver, we think there’s no better option than Octopus Energy. We're confident that you'll find that we offer the best value in the industry.
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