Electric car owners could be forced to pay more for peak time charging

Electric vehicle owners face being penalised for charging at peak times - Getty Images Europe
Electric vehicle owners face being penalised for charging at peak times - Getty Images Europe

Electric car owners who continue to charge their vehicles during the evening peak could be forced to pay more in a bid to encourage off-peak consumption, under new plans put forward by the energy watchdog.

Ofgem said that incentivising drivers to charge their cars in the middle of the night or at other times of low demand could boost the number of vehicles the grid is currently capable of supporting by at least 60pc.

It wants to see so-called “flexible charging” systems that would allow cars to automatically draw power from the grid at times of excess capacity rather than immediately after being plugged in.

Ofgem’s Jonathan Brearley told the BBC’s Today programme: “We need to make sure we have the technology in place that allows people to plug their car in, go to bed and allow their charger to do the work for them, so the charger will find when the best time to charge off the system is.”

The best electric cars on the market - your easy to follow guide
The best electric cars on the market - your easy to follow guide

While they still make up a small fraction of those on Britain’s roads, electric vehicles have surged in popularity in recent years. They presently number around 160,000 and the National Grid’s most ambitious estimates suggest there could be as many as 2 million by 2021.

Ofgem said the introduction of flexible charging, which would require customers to have a smart meter and “time of use” tariffs that fluctuate depending on demand, would minimise the need for investment in new power stations and grid capacity.

“Consumers should be rewarded for being flexible with their demand, but may pay a premium if their behaviour adds to peak demand or local congestion - reflecting the benefits they provide to (or costs they impose on) the system,” it added.

Electric cars timeline
Electric cars timeline

There are also schemes underway to allow electric vehicle owners to use energy stored on their car batteries to power their homes and even to sell spare electricity stored in their cars back to the grid at times of high demand.