OVO are suggesting renewals for Gas/Electricity in a month or so costing over 3 times as much as current, unless I go for variable rate which is only twice as much. Nowhere can I see the Smart Charging rate - does anyone have info on how much that might increase from the present 5p/Kwh ?
Best answer by tony1tf
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+1
Hi
To the best of my knowledge, the 5p/kWh EV Charging provided via the Drive + Anytime add-on is staying as-is. However, this is definitely a good question, so I’m sure I can ask
Hang in there for a bit as this may take a while.
I’ve been on the OVO messaging service, and they confirm the 5p/kWh as long as I stay on OVO Drive.
Tony
We have done the spreadsheet to work out if the Drive Anytime tariff will work for us from August 2022. However, the variable rate will currently be £4484 per year and the Drive Anytime 1 year is £6446, and with a £1036 saving on the power for car charging = £5410 - still nearly £1000 more expensive. We would have to be driving many more tens of thousands of miles to make this economical.
I understand that the whole idea of giving electric car owners with smart chargers the option of cheap electricity when charging the car, is so that OVO can turn us off when needed to balance their load. I would be happy if the Drive Anytime options were available on the variable tariff, then we could take the risk of a price hike while still helping ourselves and OVO. But the difference in cost is very high at the moment, so OVO are shooting themselves in the foot.
I hate changing suppliers, but I might have to look at other options.
Tony
Some really valuable feedback here,
I’ve forwarded this comment on to the team as they are currently working on extending the eligibility requirements of Anytime.
Watch this space. 👀
+2
We have done the spreadsheet to work out if the Drive Anytime tariff will work for us from August 2022. However, the variable rate will currently be £4484 per year and the Drive Anytime 1 year is £6446, and with a £1036 saving on the power for car charging = £5410 - still nearly £1000 more expensive. We would have to be driving many more tens of thousands of miles to make this economical.
I think comparing with the variable rate is complicating matters slightly. Ignoring EV needs I would expect the fixed tariff and variable tariff to currently work out pretty much similar total costs over the course of a year when increases in the cap are taken into account.
What it basically boils down to is, if you need to charge your EV during the day, the +Anytime option likely can’t be beaten. No other supplier has this feature that I’m aware of. However, if you are charging in the evening or overnight then there may be better options available to you. It comes down to personal charging requirements at the end of the day.
I’d like to add to what Jess alluded to above, based on your reasonable and fair feedback,
We are looking to expand our existing trial of the Anytime add-on later this year, which would include a direct to vehicle (D2V) option for eligible car manufacturers, which in turn would be available for all plans, including the variable tariff, Simpler.
Something to bear in mind, Tony :)
ps I won’t be able to confirm any more details than that at this stage.
Hi
Thanks for your useful comments. We’ve still got a month before we need to commit. So I will watch this space.
Tony
Hi
Thinking about direct to vehicle, we have two electric cars - a Tesla which has full Internet control, and a first gen Ioniq which has no connectivity unless my phone is in the car and providing a tether. I would need flexibility in the provisions of the smart charger to get the best out of the system. Any thoughts?
+1
I don’t think Tim will be able to say much more right now. However, my guess is that your Ioniq might not be compatible unless OVO is able to pull data via the charging cable - which is possible to do in theory.
Has anyone seen progress yet on the Drive Anytime fixed deals compared with the variable rate? We have to decide in the next month.
OVO Drive should now be an option for you when comparing plans via your online account,
Have you logged in to see your renewal options yet?
Blimey
Whereas the variable rate without Drive has gone up by £1 from £381 to £382. What on earth are Ovo playing at - Ovo has just made the decision to stick with Drive Anytime even more difficult. I thought that we were going to see some improvements, not this!
Tony
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