Seeking advice on U.K. electricity provider

[tomcat]

I’m looking to lease or purchase a M3 in the coming months and am currently installing the cabling and breaker capacity to support the charger/connector.

I thought I should also review options on the best electricity suppliers that provide support for EV charging, whether in the form of intelligent switching during off-peak windows etc.

I’m currently with Bulb, which is good in a number of ways including easy to understand billing but I’ve read some good reviews of Octopus.

I’d be grateful for any advice based on experience on whether any providers offer any advantages over others or whether the intelligence is all built into the hardware in either the car or the charger, in the case of 3rd party equipment.

Thanks in advance.

 

[MrBadger]

the intelligence is all built into the hardware in either the car

Other than to stop the charge at a specific time, but there are easy alternatives, like stopping at a specific % or using third party solution.

As for providers, market pricing is in state of flux atm so recommendations are really down to your expected charge patterns/requirements rather than pricing.

 

[Sinx]

I'd recommend Octopus

 

[Alan J]

I'd also recommend Octopus their Go or Go Faster Tariffs offer 4-5 Hours at 5-5.5 p per KWH which is an excellent deal.

 

[GRiLLA]

Octopus Go here, simple formula to charge between 00:30 and 04:30 every night for 5p. My charger is set to only charge between those times.

 

[C225]

I've not had any issues with my E.on Next drive apart from me being too eager at the start and installing the app before my tariff had been fully switched over.

No need for smart meters of chargers, just link the app to your Tesla account and it automatically starts charges overnight at 4p kWh.

 

[PITA]

Have you contacted your DNO for charger installation approval?

 

[Dilly]

I’d recommend Octopus too

 

[Bernard_S]

Octopus is the way to go, been with them at least couple of years and other than a delay with smart meter installation (out their control) they have been faultless.

 

[M3noob]

All in favour of Octopus Go, say aye!

But the market is rapidly changing so keep your eyes peeled for better deals.

 

[Adopado]

Clear winner on the forum seems to be Octopus Go at the moment. If you already have a SMETS2 meter you are ready to go. If not then you may need to wait for an installation. Some SMETS1 meters can use Octopus too but it's only a few models. 5p a kWh for a 4 hours slot or 5.5p for the 5 hour slots. If you can plug in whenever at home then most people rarely ever have to pay a peak rate or use a public charger. GO is a fixed period tariff but though there are smart flexible tariffs from Octopus they don't seem to be as good value at present.

 

[Tinca]

Octopus Go here, simple formula to charge between 00:30 and 04:30 every night for 5p. My charger is set to only charge between those times.

Me too. Works very well.

 

[tomcat]

Many thanks for the quick replies everyone. Sounds like I'll be switching to Octopus GO, although I appreciate what someone said about supplier deals being a moving picture. For the charger, I'm looking at both Zappi and HyperVolt, which I assume are SMETS2 but will check this.

Again, great feedback - Cheers!

 

[DaveW]

Hi @tomcat

Just updated my calc (details in this thread: Find out how much it costs to charge your Tesla in the UK, take 5!)

Prices are jumping up at the moment pretty much every month.

Dave.

 

[phil4]

I've had no end of trouble with Octopus since I started with them. I wanted to be on Go, but the meter they fitted turned out to be faulty by design (ie. I wasn't the only one), so missed the odd reading and stopped them billing. So after 3 months of chasing they admitted the problem, retrospectively billed my past usage at a higher tariff, and moved me onto that going forward.

They've said they'll work with the meter maker to find a firmware fix. They've also said they'll go back through my bills and rebate me (though not sure how they intend to do that with the missing readings). But all on an unknown timescale. And that's if they're true to their word.

So when working, they're great. When things don't, well you're the one left in the sticky spot.

 

[DaveW]

I've had no end of trouble with Octopus since I started with them. I wanted to be on Go, but the meter they fitted turned out to be faulty by design (ie. I wasn't the only one), so missed the odd reading and stopped them billing. So after 3 months of chasing they admitted the problem, retrospectively billed my past usage at a higher tariff, and moved me onto that going forward.

They've said they'll work with the meter maker to find a firmware fix. They've also said they'll go back through my bills and rebate me (though not sure how they intend to do that with the missing readings). But all on an unknown timescale. And that's if they're true to their word.

So when working, they're great. When things don't, well you're the one left in the sticky spot.

With my bills (as it took a while to get on go, thanks to Bulbs knackered smart meter). Once I finally had a working smart meter, they profiled my usage for a month, averaged out the costs and retro applied it to the account.

 

[RedMod3]

I'd recommend Octopus, but get a 5-Terminal Smart Meter and you can have the 5th terminal available for only off-peak supply.

 

[Drew57]

Another vote for one of the Octopus Go plans & I also suggest you ask for variable direct debit billing. Only pay for what you use during each billing period.

I asked Octopus for Type 2 smart meters during last years first lockdown and they were installed shortly afterwards, In my experience the company has always been responsive and helpful.

 

[MrBadger]

For the charger, I'm looking at both Zappi and HyperVolt, which I assume are SMETS2 but will check this.

SMETS2 is the 'smart' meter standard rather than anything to do with charging. Its all to do with how the billing data is reported back to the supplier.

In short.
SMETS1 meters would only work (as in send billing info) with the supplier who fitted it and a small number of others which may or may not have used the same meter. So if you are SMETS1 and want to change supplier, you go back to dumb billing, or did*...

SMETS2 meters are a more industry standard, so billing info could be used by many more suppliers - switching supplier should be OK and retain smart billing. However, SMETS2 communications are not as robust, so there are more locations in the country where the meter cannot communicate in a smart way.

* there is a plan, I think already underway in limited form, that upgrades SMETS1 meters to more open standard, so changing supplier is not the big issue it once was. Or you can just have a new meter fitted...

The much vaunted Octopus Go tarrif requires a 'smart' meter compatible with Octopus.

What we did when we got our car was to look at our charging pattern and then decide what to do rather than just jumping blindly into a tarrif. Many of these smart tarrifs have a higher than normal standing charge, something to bear in mind before choosing a tarrif.

 

[Adopado]

For the charger, I'm looking at both Zappi and HyperVolt, which I assume are SMETS2 but will check this.

As explained by @VanillaAir_UK above the SMETS1/2 refers to the smart meter specification. All the charge point brands work with either type of smart meter but your chosen supplier will fit one which suits their own systems if you don't have one already. (In theory the newer SMETS2 meters suit all suppliers.)