Charging costs for electric vehicles could near double from October under updated price cap levels but drivers can offset some of the latest rise by using a smart tariff.

Ohme says drivers can counter some of the energy price cap rise by switching to one of the many off-peak tariffs available for charging their EV

Market regulator Ofgem announced the rise in the energy price cap last week, which will see the Standard Variable Tariff rise from 28p/kWh to 52p/kWh on 1 October. It’s also due to rise again in January, putting households under severe financial pressures.

But smart charging company Ohme says drivers can counter some of the rise by switching to one of the many off-peak tariffs available for charging their electric vehicles. And it even warns that drivers not using smart charging will pay six times over.

Its calculations reveal that under an average UK annual mileage of 6,800 miles, charging on an off-peak tariff in a typical EV would cost just £127.50 with Octopus Intelligent at 7.5p/kWh. At the current Standard Variable Tariff of 28p/kWh, that same annual mileage would cost £476, while the forthcoming new price cap of 52p/kWh will cost £884 – more than six times more than with an off-peak tariff.

And Ohme’s Home Pro smart charger can connect with the national grid in real time and automatically adjust its charging for drivers to take advantage of all the times of low price charging with smart off-peak tariffs. Ohme also offers drivers the option to charge their car when renewable energy generation on the National Grid is at its highest, further lowering their CO2 impact.

“EV drivers should switch to an off-peak tariff for their home charging to ensure that they’re reducing some of the impact of this latest rise in electricity prices,” explained Ohme CEO, David Watson. “Speak to your existing electricity supplier and find out if they offer an off-peak tariff, if they don’t then switch to a provider that does to get the full savings of running an electric vehicle.”