Octopus Energy has announced that its Intelligent Octopus Go tariff now manages a combined 1 gigawatt (GW) worth of electric vehicle (EV) batteries by integrating 150,000 EV batteries into a virtual power plant using Octopus Energy’s technology platform, Kraken.
This system enables automatic shifting of EV charging to optimise energy usage.
The 1GW capacity can power both Birmingham and Leeds on a typical evening.
Launched in early 2022, the tariff offers six hours of low cost charging each night and has seen a five-fold increase in customers over the past year.
Users can save £600 annually compared to a standard tariff and £1,660 compared to petrol cars.
The Octopus Energy app allows users to set charging preferences, while Kraken optimises charging for low cost, low carbon energy.
Intelligent Octopus Go is part of a strategy to reward customers for grid balancing.
Octopus customers have collectively saved around £100 million with smart meters.
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, there are now one million electric vehicles registered in the UK, with over 250,000 on Octopus smart tariffs, reducing costs for both EV owners and other bill payers by lowering system costs.
