Charge Anytime only works with some chargers? What happens if I switch from OVO?

I’m also not eligible because I use a 2kW charger. I do have a compatible Zoe though. I could pay £1,000+ and have a compatible charger. What I see with Charge Anytime is a lot of restrictions. At least 90% of my charging is done from 10pm - 4am so the electricity is mostly going to be as green as it’s going to be for that 24 hour period. The ‘greeness’ of the generation generally doesn’t change that fast. The car is very seldom plugged in before 6pm and I need the charging to be done by 6am.

When we get to the end of this energy price crisis and Ovo are still only offering this very restrictive package I’m very seriously thinking of moving to Octopus with their 00:30 - 04:30 cheap rate (I can change my charging habits, and yes, I can make this work with my usage pattern) or move to someone who will do Economy 7. The pay back time to comply with the restrictions is going to be too long to justify a compatible charger. As far as I understand it I only get credit for charging under Ovo’s control. If anything goes wrong with the charging command or there is a loss of WiFi signal (not all chargers seem to maintain a good WiFi connection with their router - check this out and also what you need to do when you change your broadband supplier / router!) then you either don’t get a charge or you don’t qualify for the credit. The first one you will know about the next morning. The second one you will only find out later when you see the bill. With Octopus or Economy 7 it’s simple. The car is charged and you get a bill for when you charge. No ifs or buts. Sorry, but Ovo’s offering is far too complicated, restrictive and has potential pitfalls (think of all the things that have to function correctly to get a charge and get a credit for it).  A shame because I’ve been with you since 2014 (your office was just round the corner from mine at Temple Point) and I’ve never had any reason to complain about your service with the very minor issue of having lost my half hour readings that you restored recently when I asked.

Finally, it’s worth noting that I got my car in July 2021. At the time Ovo said that the EO Mini Pro was a compatible charger (it was a selectable item on their set up web page) for their system but by the time I had got the quotes for its installation it had been dropped. They agreed to allow the installation of the EO unit and then I discovered the looping issue with my neighbour and dropped the installation. This turned out to be fortunate because the EO Mini Pro turned out to be a nightmare with maintaining a reliable WiFi connection even with a good signal level and even more fortunate when it was reported that they were were found to be filling with water (Speak EV). Before buying the car I had put 90% of my effort in choosing the car and 10% choosing the charger. With hindsight it probably would have been better the other way round.

Sorry for the long read - it’s been a long journey to get to this point.

Peter

Good reply Peter, it seems every energy company makes it so simple to charge your EV car at competitive rates, I also charge my car between midnight and seven o’clock which is surely the greenest time to charge, like you I have been with OVO since the changeover from SSE and find it so frustrating that because of the energy crisis we have been unable to switch, roll on the end when we  EV owners can switch to Octopus.

Just for clarity. The energy crisis has not stopped anyone from being able to switch at any point.

Actually, that’s a very good point. The price comparison sites are not working because there are no deals on atm. You can still switch though. Thank you for that.

I’m sort of waiting for someone to come on here to defend Charge Anytime either as a user or in a semi-official role for the company. The time to switch to CA is now because as time goes on and energy rates subside back towards what they were, (although they will never return completely) this erodes the case for investing in a compatible charge point (the charger is in the car). It may be the case that you will never get your money back bearing in mind that having bought the charge point doesn’t mean it won’t go wrong and then you have to spend a large amount of money having it fixed or just replacing it.

I think this is the central issue with the eligibility rules being so restrictive but perhaps the rules are necessary to make Type-of-use work. But I don’t see how this competes with Time-of-use and a charge point you already have. Perhaps someone has a view as to why they would prefer Type-of-use rather than Time-of-use and also, was any market research carried out to indicate a demand for this?

Foe neilmurphy, it may not be the energy crisis but I have contacted British Gas, EDF and Octopus and all have same message that they are not taking any switchers at the present time, they will contact me when the situation (crisis?) changes.

@cmccullie not quite correct, it was only worth switching if you wanted specialist tariffs such as EV tariffs or for better customer service, and you used to have to call to confirm the switch to ensure you were happy with what was being offered. Now it should be possible online. It certainly is with Octopus. 

We’re about to launch a revamped Charge Anytime in the coming weeks. This includes Direct to Vehicle functionality with the following makes and models of EVs. 

My advice is always to get the best deal that suits your needs. A type of use tariff allows you the flexibility to charge your EV whenever you need to. If you’re already with OVO and you’re looking at EV tariff options, my advice today is to wait a few more weeks till you hear about our market leading Charge Anytime works!

I received a “personal invitation…issued solely to very select people” to join “Charge Anytime” which would allow me to charge my EV at 10p per kW instead of my present 31.5p per kW. This appealed to me so decided to apply…only to fall at the first hurdle because, though almost every EV is mentioned in the list of eligible vehicles, the Nissan LEAF is not one of them. Also though I have an Indra V2G charger it is not one of the Indra chargers on the list……clearly I wasn’t the “very select people” I thought I was.

So I rang up to see why I couldn’t sign up and I’m a bit annoyed at the response.

I was told it was because I’m on the V2G scheme and I receive a credit for this which other people do not……and that is what annoyed me. Perhaps those looking in are missing something.

Over 3 years ago in order to join the V2G scheme I had to change from Economy 7 where I was paying 8p per kW night rate and 16p day rate to 15p all day. The credit I received per kW I exported paid both the cost of the initial purchase and adequately compensated for the 8p difference. Over time this credit has changed and now stands at reimbursing me for the initial cost of electricity plus 15p per kW. Ie, I pay 31.5p per kW which I import to my car and OVO give me 31.5p…plus 15p, ie 46.5p per kW for every kW I export. All I make is 15p per kW….but here’s the thing. In order to use v2g I have to pay £34,000 for the LEAF in the first place. The repayments are costing me the equivalent of 47p per hour, every hour, 24/7….which equates to how much OVO are crediting me per hour for using my battery to store their electricity, just for the time I’m exporting. I recently looked at the price of electricity and at 2am when my car was importing the market price of electricity was 24p per kW…which OVO was selling to me at 31.5p. At peak period I was then selling that electricity back to OVO for the same 31.5p plus 15p credit…..saving them the market value of electricity at £1.50p per kW. I’ve no problem with OVO taking a bit of profit but that’s not taking the profit….that’s taking the piss.

An owner of a Tesla, Ford, Land Rover, Mini or one of the other cars can import electricity for 10p per kW but my electricity costs 31.5p….ie just because I’m helping out The Grid I am having to pay over 3 times what they are…..the 15p not being a real credit but rent which I have to initially pay out to own the car, shouldering any risk for depreciation or damage to the car battery, car and charger with no risk on OVO.

There are people who’ve been forerunners for V2G, made sure their cars are connected to the charger to download at 6.6 kWh (about 4 hours) and then export at 3.3.kWh (About 6 hours) meaning that the car I paid £34,000 for isn’t available to use for 10 hours a day and OVO are turning their back on us and having a good laugh in the process…

I suspect that there are just over 100 people still supporting The Grid at peak periods….clearly OVO have made their money thanks to the Government grants and want to see the back of us…..otherwise why treat customers who’ve gone above and beyond to support OVO and The Grid the way they do.

Looking forward to moving across from Octopus once Anytime goes live. Good to see the Taycan on the direct to vehicle list. Octopus Intelligent still does not have it and I don’t want to buy a new charger and with a large domestic kwh usage their Go tariff does not offer much of a saving even if I assume I can shift some of my daytime usage to the Go off peak hours.

Any idea on timing for general rollout? I see that some of your existing customers are being invited to join Anytime