Best EV tarrifs - June 2026

[Ham_and_Jam]

I’m just starting on my EV journey having just moved and getting smart meters and an EV charger installed.

I thought moving to a smart EV tariff would be simple, and would save me a packet based on my prior, if out of date, knowledge.

It appears now that all the cheap off-peak / EV charging tariffs are offset with exorbitant daytime tariffs. Unless you do fairly chunky mileage it barely makes financial sense, or so it seems on initial calculations.

So, as someone who averages fairly low / average mileage (8-10k per year), are there any tariffs in June 2026 that still make a decent saving on the annual household bill?

I’m on a variable tariff at then moment, so free to move and sign up to a new provider if anyone can suggest something that suits.

[butchstewie]

How much are you looking to save?

My current petrol does 60mpg and by most online calculator calculations it's still half the cost to run an EV even on the normal variable rate tariff.

[Dave Hedgehog]

dont forget all your leccy is cheap rate so run your dishwasher, washing machine etc. during cheap rate

[Ham_and_Jam]

butchstewie said:

How much are you looking to save?

My current petrol does 60mpg and by most online calculator calculations it's still half the cost to run an EV even on the normal variable rate tariff.

That’s not the question.

I’m happy that I can save money by switching to an EV. The question is - are EV specific tariffs still worth switching to based on the high daytime charges that offset the lower off-peak / EV charges for a low / average mileage user.

[Dave.]

This worked out the cheapest for us, heavy daytime use, 12k miles....

https://www.scottishpower.co.uk/ev-optimise

[Ham_and_Jam]

Dave Hedgehog said:

dont forget all your leccy is cheap rate so run your dishwasher, washing machine etc. during cheap rate

I get that, and it makes sense.

However cooking my tea, running the fridge / freezers, lights etc which will eat a good chunk of the useage aren’t movable.

[Dave Hedgehog]

Ham_and_Jam said:

I get that, and it makes sense.

However cooking my tea, running the fridge / freezers, lights etc which will eat a good chunk of the useage aren t movable.

led lights and an airfryer will make that negligible

[butchstewie]

Ham_and_Jam said:

That s not the question.

I m happy that I can save money by switching to an EV. The question is - are EV specific tariffs still worth switching to based on the high daytime charges that offset the lower off-peak / EV charges for a low / average mileage user.

I think it's where you need to do the maths though.

I'm in the same boat. 12K/year (ish) and I simply can't work out whether it's actually worth jacking up the daytime rate by 30% and possibly disrupting your life by scheduling stuff you take for granted right now to happen off-peak just to save a bit more on a once weekly charge when it's already half the cost of petrol if you do absolutely nothing at all.

Just saying it won't be one-size fits all IMO

[Ham_and_Jam]

Dave. said:

This worked out the cheapest for us, heavy daytime use, 12k miles....

https://www.scottishpower.co.uk/ev-optimise

So obvious question, does it work?

What are you day / EV rates if you don’t mind sharing.

[Ham_and_Jam]

butchstewie said:

I think it's where you need to do the maths though.

I'm in the same boat. 12K/year (ish) and I simply can't work out whether it's actually worth jacking up the daytime rate by 30% and possibly disrupting your life by scheduling stuff you take for granted right now to happen off-peak just to save a bit more on a once weekly charge when it's already half the cost of petrol if you do absolutely nothing at all.

Just saying it won't be one-size fits all IMO

Again, I get that. But the PH collective usually come up trumps with solutions / alternative options etc..

The Scottish Power EV tariff looks good on the face of it. Just interested in hearing first hand user experiences.

[Dave Hedgehog]

Ham_and_Jam said:

Again, I get that. But the PH collective usually come up trumps with solutions / alternative options etc..

The Scottish Power EV tariff looks good on the face of it. Just interested in hearing first hand user experiences.

they are quoting me more than my current int octopus go

[Ham_and_Jam]

Dave Hedgehog said:

they are quoting me more than my current int octopus go

Current rates appear much cheaper with Scottish Power.

Octopus Go -

Night rate (00:30 - 05:30)
9.5p / kWh
Day rate (05:30 - 00:30)
30.67p / kWh
Standing charge
61.74p / day

Scottish Power-

Primary Unit rate
23.85p
EV rate
8p
Standing charge
62.33p

Are you on a cheap legacy tariff ?

[Dave Hedgehog]

Ham_and_Jam said:

Dave Hedgehog said:

they are quoting me more than my current int octopus go

Current rates appear much cheaper with Scottish Power.

Are you on a cheap legacy tariff ?

i got an actual quote for my address and it was pretty much identical to my new IOG rate of 6.9 and 30.4 certainly not worth the hassle of moving

in May i did 492kWh on 4.95p and 195kWh on 26.63p so my avg rate was 11p for everything, vastly cheaper than a standard flat rate

Edited by Dave Hedgehog on Thursday 4th June 20:33

[paralla]

I run a PHEV SUV with a 17kWh battery, I do around 10000 miles a year, I plug it in every night and am on Octopus Go with the rates below. I work from home.

I run the dishwasher every night during the cheap rate period. I never pay more than an average of 20p/kWh each month for leccy. Unless you run electric central heating or hot water the increased daytime rate is more than made up for by the heavily discounted overnight rate even with a lightly used PHEV charging overnight.

[sixor8]

I'm with E:ON, 9p per kWh for 6 hrs a night, 27.06p in the day. A little over the cap, but not exorbitant.

I use about 120 kW at night, 100kW in the day, but if you are a low mileage user (ie under 200 miles per month), the saving may not be much. I can set my washing machine to run at night too, it's the whole house. So was Octopus but I moved to E:ON in May, 2025, cheaper. Some tariffs it's the car only.

[Dave.]

Ham_and_Jam said:

Dave. said:

This worked out the cheapest for us, heavy daytime use, 12k miles....

https://www.scottishpower.co.uk/ev-optimise

So obvious question, does it work?

What are you day / EV rates if you don t mind sharing.

Yeah it works, if i'm home early enough in the afternoon/late morning, it'll charge before 5pm. The only time it wont charge is between 5pm and 9pm. Generally it waits til about 2am and is finished around 4am (set to be 80% at 6am.)

Prices are pretty much what you found, less than 70p standing, 26p/kwh, and 8p/kwh for the car.

Technically, you still pay the full 26p when you charge, but the difference gets deducted from your bill the following month.

[Rusty569]

3.5p overnight and smart scheduled tarrif, running 2 EV’s we usually get a good few daytime cheap rate slots of charging and do our washing / dishwasher then providing it’s convenient

[sixor8]

It also depends if you're having a charger installed. The cheapest rates require one.

I use a 3 pin plug, it's not my only car. Yes they're faster, dedicated chargers, but at about £1k to have one, that's over 4 years charging cost for me at night.

[RotorRambler]

Rusty569 said:

3.5p overnight and smart scheduled tarrif, running 2 EV s we usually get a good few daytime cheap rate slots of charging and do our washing / dishwasher then providing it s convenient

I’m sure lots could dig up a tariff that’s not available now

[Ham_and_Jam]

Rusty569 said:

3.5p overnight and smart scheduled tarrif, running 2 EV s we usually get a good few daytime cheap rate slots of charging and do our washing / dishwasher then providing it s convenient

Great rates, but unfortunately not available now.