Brits driving electric vehicles (EVs) have been urged to charge their cars at specific times of the day and slash costs with a little-known tool known as ‘plunge pricing’
An expert has revealed when UK motorists should charge their electric vehicles (EVs) to secure significant savings.
The EV market in the UK is growing rapidly, with 29,634 new Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) sold in January 2025 alone. The distinction between an EV and a BEV is exactly as it sounds — BEVs are solely powered by electricity stored in a battery, with no other power source, while plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), for example, also have petrol engines.
The used market is also becoming more accessible, with one in three used EVs now available for under £20,000, opening up electric motoring to a wider range of drivers than ever before. As more people make the switchover to electric, understanding how to save money on charging becomes increasingly important.
Richard Evans, head of technical services at webuyanycar, explained that the timing of your charging sessions plays a crucial role in cutting costs. He advises that EV owners pay less during off‑peak hours — roughly 1.30 am to 6.30 am during the summer and spring, or 12.30 am to 5.30 am during the autumn and winter. He advised that these are ‘consistently the cheapest times to charge your car, especially with EV‑focused tariffs’ and that utilising them can ‘nearly halve your per-mile cost’.
The expert continued: “Companies such as E.ON Next, Octopus Go, EDF and GoElectric offer off-peak rates as low as 6.7p to 9p per kWh, which can nearly halve your per‑mile cost.” Richard’s advice is backed by the latest tariffs available from major suppliers.
For example, E.ON Next Drive offers a fixed off-peak rate of 6.7p per kWh between midnight and 7 am, and EDF’s GoElectric Overnight tariff delivers a 9p per kWh rate for five hours each night. Octopus Go also provides a rate of 8.5p per kWh from 12.30 am to 5.30 am, while Intelligent Octopus Go has rates as low as 7p per kWh for compatible vehicles and chargers.
These off-peak rates are significantly lower than standard daytime rates — according to insurance experts over at WeCovr. The average cost of on-peak home EV charging is around 27.43p per kWh — making overnight charging the most cost-effective option for the majority of EV owners.
Beyond these regular off-peak savings, the expert highlighted another opportunity for even greater reductions in EV charging costs — ‘plunge pricing’. As Richard explained: “Some energy companies will also offer ‘plunge pricing’, which is a special discount on public charging when energy supply is extra high. This allows EV drivers to choose which day to charge their car based on when they know there will be cheaper energy prices. Typically, plunge pricing offers are mid-week from Tuesday to Thursday.”
What is plunge pricing?
Plunge pricing is triggered by a surplus of renewable energy on the grid, often due to high wind or solar generation and low demand. During these periods, companies notify their customers of special events where charging rates can be massively discounted — in exceptional circumstances, EV drivers could even be paid to charge their vehicles.
Octopus Energy released a statement last year reading: “Electric car drivers in Britain can benefit from cheaper public charging when green energy is abundant thanks to a groundbreaking innovation from Octopus Electroverse. ‘Plunge Pricing’ events happen when cheap renewable generation is high and demand is low, so wholesale electricity prices fall. Drivers using Octopus’ Electroverse get discounts for taking excess energy off the grid at these sunny and windy times.
“Electroverse has so far trialled five of these events at over 7,500 charge points across brands like IONITY, Osprey, Blink, Be.EV, GeniePoint and Raw. Discounts to date have ranged from 15 per cent to 45 per cent per kWh. There is even potential in the future for drivers to get paid to charge up their car when wholesale prices go negative.”
Notifications for upcoming plunge pricing events are generally sent out via apps like Octopus Electroverse, giving EV drivers direct access to discounted rates at over 700,000 public chargers across the UK and Europe.
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