Renewable energy retailer Octopus Energy US today announced that it’s going to give Texas electric vehicle drivers cheaper electricity rates when they smart charge their EVs at home.

A great deal for Texas EV drivers

Octopus Energy customers in Texas can now pair their EVs with “Intelligent Octopus” to automatically find the best, most efficient time to charge and reduce their monthly home electricity rate.

Intelligent Octopus is a smart device management feature that rewards customers for helping to balance the grid when the grid is constrained, as long as your device remains connected. This allows Octopus Energy to offer the cheapest electricity rates in the market by unlocking customer flexibility.

Here’s how it works: From today, Octopus Energy customers will be able to register and connect their EVs via Octopus Energy’s mobile app, which responds to various grid signals. By letting Octopus Energy smart charge the vehicle, customers will get a discount off their standard electricity rate for their entire household consumption. Customers set their own preferences, and Intelligent Octopus handles the rest. 

I recently spoke with Michael Lee, CEO of Octopus Energy US, who told me that “customers don’t typically rave about their utility, but we think that can change. Intelligent Octopus is going to bring down customers’ household electricity bill by up to 20%.”

Electrek’s Take

If you’re a Tesla driver, this is kind of like using the Utility Rate Plans setting on the Tesla app so that you charge during off-peak hours. Except, Octopus gives you a discount for your entire bill, not just for EV charging. The Octopus app can hook right into the Tesla app.

I get discounted EV charging from Green Mountain Power in Vermont via my free ChargePoint wall charger that’s wifi connected – but as much as I like my utility, it’s not giving me a discount on my entire electric bill.

This is a great deal. And if I lived in Texas, as the driver of two EVs, I’d totally sign up for Octopus Energy, and for this program. It’s already a big success in the UK, where the company is headquartered. Octopus Energy is further expanding in the United States later this year.

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