We’re living through a pivotal moment in the energy transition. The 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars is  fast approaching while customer wallets are increasingly tight. The time is now to show how intelligent charging plans can help make the switch to electric vehicles easy and affordable for all.

That’s why OVO and Kaluza have launched a new, mould-breaking add-on – OVO Charge Anytime.

The add-on in a nutshell

The EV smart charging plan is the only unrestricted type-of-use add-on on the market – i.e. it allows customers to charge at any time, day or night, rather than within specific time windows. Powered by Kaluza’s advanced algorithms, EV charging is optimised in response to market dynamics when emissions and costs are low. By splitting EV charging costs from home electricity charges, customers on the add-on receive credits for the amount of electricity saved via EV smart charging every month.

Customers are able to charge up at just 10p per kWh (equating to 3p a mile), a rate which is three times cheaper than the UK’s average rate (34p per kWh). This allows for average charging savings of 71%* equal to approximately £350 ($421) a year**.

Rocketing sign-ups

1,000 customers signed up for the addon in the first 20 days and an additional 800 non-OVO customers also showed interest in the plan proving how add-ons like these can provide a persuasive incentive to switch supplier.

High compatibility

In under two months, 2,000 direct-to-vehicle (D2V) customers were active on the plan. D2V is when Kaluza uses the vehicle’s telematics to communicate with and control the vehicle, rather than connecting via the vehicle’s charger. This means the add-on is compatible with a much wider set of electric vehicles than would otherwise be possible. Currently, Kaluza’s platform is compatible with >80% of EVs, and we are working to expand this even further – watch this space!

Big benefits for customers and the grid

By harnessing both Kaluza’s EV charging optimisation and powerful billing engine, Charge Anytime is already providing huge benefits to customers. Across just under 2,000 D2V customers in 2.5 months, we have seen:

  • £115,000 in total savings
  • £66 average customer saving
  • £5.85 average savings per charging session
  • 0.33 GWhs shifted away from peak times
  • 97.5% of charging smart charged

Also, between 22nd and 24th March, when wind generation in the UK hit 46-56%, Charge Anytime drivers shifted almost 20 MWh – charging at times that maximised the use of this abundant wind energy.

The fact that over 97% of all charging has been via Kaluza’s optimisation shows the high trust customers have in the tech. This comes from the ‘set and forget’ nature of the add-on, where customers feel safe in the knowledge that their charging is being optimised around their set parameters, that they are being protected from price spikes whilst also providing grid and carbon benefits, and that they are receiving substantial rewards for doing so.

Cross-market comparison

Unlike other EV charging add-ons on the market, Charge Anytime allows customers to enjoy a low, flat rate for their EV charging that is separate from their household energy use. The advantages this offers over other rates was picked up in this excellent piece by Love My EV, which compared Charge Anytime to Intelligent Octopus. The key takeaway – Charge Anytime will very likely save you £200 per year vs. Intelligent Octopus.

MoneySavingExpert also recently ranked Charge Anytime as the cheapest EV add-on in a piece comparing the current EV add-ons on the UK market, noting that it’s the cheapest two-rate add-on.

Plus with Charge Anytime, the other big advantage is that it doesn’t matter when you choose to smart charge your EV – you’ll always receive the 10p/kWh rate, whereas with Intelligent Octopus you’ll need to charge within a specific 6 hour window overnight.

Happy customers

Charge Anytime provides users with a ‘set and forget’, hassle-free charging experience that fits their schedule and rewards them for helping create a more resilient energy system. This is one of the reasons why feedback from customers on the add-on has been very positive – with the Charge Anytime app receiving ~4 star rating.

We have also had many OVO customers telling us how happy the product has made them:

What’s next for the UK’s smartest add-on?

We at Kaluza are very proud that OVO’s Charge Anytime is already the smartest add-on available, achieving impressive growth and, most importantly, delighting customers. This is only the beginning and we look to continually develop the add-on by:

  • Expanding the concept to new retailer partners and new markets
  • Building new product features – such as optimisation with solar for all customers and public charging integration
  • Increase customers on the add-on in the UK significantly by the end of this year

We are confident that Charge Anytime signals a new era in smart charging EV add-ons – enabling retailers to offer their customers an easy, cutting edge charging experience that protects them from volatile energy prices while allowing them to become active participants in decarbonisation.

*Based on 100% charging being smart charging I.E at 10p and for 1750 kWh / 7000 miles, total cost at 34p is £595, cost at 10p is £175, a 71% decrease (as of 27 Feb 2023).

**Based on an average Anytime customer using 1,750kWh per year to charge their EV using the Charge Anytime add-on (the rate on 01/01/23 is 10p a kWh for Charge Anytime charging) compared to the UK average unit rate of 30p a kWh. Actual savings will vary depending on vehicle efficiency, driving style, EV charging usage and the cost per kWh of a standard home energy add-on.