August 9th, 2023
Octopus Energy EV charging plan comparison
What you need to know up top:
- If you’re a high-energy usage home (1,200 kWh/mo. or more) the Octopus Energy Octo 12 with Connected EV plan could save you nearly $600 a year.
- Intelligent Octopus is our innovative smart feature that optimizes your EV charging to charge at the greenest and cheapest times.
We believe electric vehicle (EV) drivers should pay the least for electricity. Another new energy provider in Texas recently announced a plan for EV drivers, which is awesome. We love to see more retailers offering EV specific plans! However it can be hard to figure out which plan is best for you and your wallet since all energy plans are structured differently.
You may see promises of free overnight charging or other bells and whistles but it’s important to dig into the details and compare apples to apples. What may be great could cost you more in energy bills.
How do we stack up?
We did a side by side comparison of the Octo 12 with EV plan featuring Intelligent Octopus versus another provider’s free charging overnight EV plan. This provider is offering drivers unlimited charging for $25/month. Is this a good deal?
We compared it to our plan and found that an average driver would save $770 a year with Octopus!
Octo 12 with Connected EV vs. Provider A overnight charging plan (Average household)
| RATES AND FEES | OCTO 12 WITH CONNECTED EV | PROVIDER A OVERNIGHT CHARGING |
|---|---|---|
| Energy rate ($/kWh) | $0.0689 | $0.1140 |
| TDU rate ($/kWh) | $0.0547 | $0.0547 |
| CNP meter fee ($/month) | $4.39 | $4.39 |
| Base charge ($/month) | $10 | $0 |
| Charging fee ($/month) | $0 | $25 |
| kWh EV usage during 10 PM to 6 AM | 300 kWh | 300 kWh |
| Household usage | 1,700 kWh | 1,700 kWh |
| Total monthly kWh | 2000 kWh | 2,000 kWh |
| Bill per month | $261.59 | $316.17 |
| Average unit rate (¢) | 13.07¢ | 15.81¢ |
Methodology: We used a 2020 Model 3 Tesla assuming it drives 15,000 miles a year.
The potential savings depend on how many miles you drive and what type of EV you own. Our plan offers a flat discounted rate for all household consumption. If you’re a high-energy usage household, the Octopus Energy plan will be cheapest for you. On the flipside, if you’re racking up the miles the plan with unlimited charging for a flat $25 credit may be better for you.
If you’re feeling nerdy and want to dig into the numbers a bit more, we did the math of how much you would need to drive for Provider A’s plan to match our rate. We found that if you drive 2,500 miles a month (about 30,000 miles a year) and use only 1,000 kWh per month, you would pay $12 less per month on Provider A's plan. (Check the table below.)
Octo 12 with Connected EV vs. Provider A overnight charging plan (Average household)
| RATES AND FEES | OCTO 12 WITH CONNECTED EV | PROVIDER A OVERNIGHT CHARGING |
|---|---|---|
| Energy rate ($/kWh) | $0.0689 | $0.1140 |
| TDU rate ($/kWh) | $0.0547 | $0.0547 |
| CNP meter fee ($/month) | $4.39 | $4.39 |
| Base charge ($/month) | $10 | $0 |
| Charging fee ($/month) | $0 | $25 |
| kWh EV usage during 10 PM to 6 AM | 600 kWh | 600 kWh |
| Household usage | 1,000 kWh | 1,000 kWh |
| Total monthly kWh | 1,600 kWh | 1,600 kWh |
| Bill per month | $212.15 | $198.08 |
| Average unit rate (¢) | 13.25¢ | 12.38¢ |
Methodology: We used a 2020 Model 3 Tesla assuming it drives 30,000 miles a year.
We made a handy calculator where you can plug in your own numbers to see how much you'd pay on the Octo 12 with Connected EV plan vs. Provider A's free overnight charging plan.
Benefits of smart charging with Intelligent Octopus
Provider A’s plan offers unlimited charging from 10 PM to 6 AM for just $25 per month. However, if you charge outside those hours, you’ll be charged your normal energy rate which will cost you more. With Octopus Energy you’ll never have to monitor your energy usage to make sure your bill doesn’t spike. It’s the same great rate all the time.
With Intelligent Octopus, you can easily set how much you want your EV charged and when with the Octopus Energy app. You’ll instantly get a customized charging schedule optimized to save you the most money, while charging only during the greenest times. You can charge your EV any time of day and still save.
Why Octopus Energy
Our mission is to provide clean, green energy without breaking the bank. If this sounds good, join us! With Octopus Energy you’ll always get:
- Fair and honest communication.
- Superb customer service. ( We’re 4.8 out of 5 on TrustPilot)
- Great value for long-term, and short-term gains.
- No hidden or surprise billing fees. (Only good surprises, please.)
- Easy-to-understand plans that best fit your needs.
- Smart tech innovations for smarter decision-making.
- Forward-thinking energy solutions for a cleaner future.
- You’ll always get some of the lowest, 100% renewable electricity rates in Texas so you can save money while powering your home and EV.
EV drivers should always pay less for energy- period. Whichever provider and plan you choose, it should be what’s best for your home. (Though we hope you pick Octopus!)
Go ahead and get started. Just pop your zip code in and we'll handle the rest.
We never put information or claims out there that we can’t back up. Below are the two sources we used to create our tables and EV plan calculator sourced in this article today.
Sources
Tesla Home Charging Plan CenterPoint- Houston
Octopus Energy Octo 12 Plan with Connected EV
All of this information is up-to-date as of August 2023.
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