EDF UK trials overnight smart charging EV tariff

EDF is launching the EV OptiCharge tariff trial, a smart charging trial which will allow participating customers to use automated controls to charge EVs overnight during the times that provide the best value while reducing consumption during carbon-intensive and grid-strained periods.

Up to 300 existing EDF customers will partake in the trial. Participants will set their charging preferences in a platform, including the level of charge in the car and by what time of the day they need it charged. Automated controls will do the rest.

EDF will go live with the smart charging trial in August, running until February 2025.

EDF’s tariff trial follows a feasibility study which explored various offers, with customer feedback highlighting the need for personalised advice and flexible tariffs, both of which EDF says are the backbone of phase two.

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EDF will collect and analyse the data generated throughout the trial to see the impact on customer bills and their usage.

Loughborough University and the University of Sheffield will also be supporting the trial by carrying out qualitative and quantitative studies and providing vital insight into the tariff’s feasibility for optimising customer’s EV charging, to ensure it is aligned with low carbon generation and at the lowest cost to the customer.

Philippe Commaret, managing director of Customers at EDF, commented in a release: “This trial is a brilliant example of the type of innovative solutions we’re exploring to help our customers to save cash and carbon.

“As an industry we must find ways to embed flexibility into the electricity system to reduce pressure on the grid and customers’ pockets. Trialling new tariffs such as OptiCharge will be vital if we are to help Britain achieve our net zero ambitions.”

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British energy tariffs

The trial is the latest in tariff trials and announcements coming out of the UK, which has been tapping into smart tech to manage power demand on the grid.

Back in April, EDF also launched the UK’s first heat pump tariff, offering six hours of discounted zero-carbon electricity every day to new and existing EDF customers with any heat pump technology.

At the time, EDF cited research from Mortar, finding that approximately 67% of British consumers are seeking greater control over their energy costs.

Additionally, according to a July survey conducted on behalf of British energy supplier Tomato Energy, a third of billpayers in the UK want companies to use smart meters to create personalised tariffs.

EDF’s smart charging trial is one of five that have been created and developed as part of a wider project by EDF’s Research and Development and Customer teams and is part of the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero’s Alternative Energy Markets Innovation Programme.

It is backed by £1.3 million ($1.7 million) of funding from the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP).