Octopus Energy has rolled out its “Intelligent Drive Pack,” a £30 per month subscription promising unlimited smart charging for your electric vehicle. This has certainly turned heads, but is it the right move for you? This article delves into the details of this tariff, explores who stands to benefit, who might be better off with other options, and how you can get £50 credit if you decide to switch. As the title says, I’ve done the maths for this tariff, and here’s my breakdown.
Thinking of switching? Use my referral link to get £50 credit on your new Octopus Energy account:
What is the Octopus Intelligent Drive Pack?
The Intelligent Drive Pack is a bolt-on subscription service for Octopus Energy customers. For a flat fee of £30 per month, it offers unlimited electricity for charging one electric vehicle at home.
Here’s how it generally works:
- Scheduled Smart Charging: You set a “ready by” time for your EV (typically between 4 am and 11 am) via the Octopus app.
- Optimised Charging: Octopus then intelligently schedules your car’s charging to occur during the cheapest and greenest periods, usually overnight.
- Compatibility: You’ll need a compatible smart meter and a compatible EV or home charger (Octopus lists around 280 compatible models).
- Boost Function: If you need to charge outside these scheduled times, you can use a “boost” function, but this electricity will be charged at your standard home energy rate, not included in the £30.
- No Full Tariff Switch (for some): Crucially, this pack can be added to selected standard Octopus tariffs. This means your household electricity isn’t shifted to a more complex time-of-use tariff unless you’re already on one or choose to be.
Why Could the Intelligent Drive Pack Be Worth It?
For certain EV drivers, this tariff offers appealing simplicity and potential savings:
- Predictable Costs: The biggest draw is the fixed £30 monthly fee for all your EV charging. This makes budgeting for “fuel” incredibly straightforward, regardless of how many miles you cover (within fair use, though Octopus hasn’t explicitly detailed a strict cap recently).
- High Mileage Drivers: If you clock up significant mileage each month, the £30 flat fee could be substantially cheaper than paying per kWh, even on discounted overnight rates offered by other EV tariffs. Based on my calculations, and supported by community discussions, to break even compared to Octopus’s popular “Intelligent Octopus Go” (IOG) tariff (which offers very cheap overnight rates for the whole house), you’d need to be a considerably high-mileage user. Some estimates suggest this could be upwards of 1,500-2,000 miles per month, depending on your vehicle’s efficiency.
- Simplicity Seekers: If you don’t want the hassle of meticulously planning your entire household’s energy usage around off-peak hours to maximise savings on a tariff like IOG, the Drive Pack offers a “set it and forget it” approach specifically for your car.
- Users on Standard Tariffs: If you’re happy with your current standard Octopus fixed or flexible tariff for your home and don’t want to switch your entire household to a time-of-use tariff, the Drive Pack lets you access cheaper EV charging as a simple add-on.
Tesla Model Y RWD | Kia Niro EV | Volkswagen ID.3 | |||
Miles per month | Monthly cost | Miles per month | Monthly cost | Miles per month | Monthly cost |
500 | £7.40 | 500 | £7.85 | 500 | £7.65 |
1000 | £14.80 | 1000 | £15.70 | 1000 | £15.30 |
1500 | £22.20 | 1500 | £23.55 | 1500 | £22.95 |
2027 | £30.00 | 1911 | £30.00 | 1961 | £30.00 |
2500 | £37.00 | 2500 | £39.25 | 2500 | £38.25 |
3000 | £44.40 | 3000 | £47.10 | 3000 | £45.90 |
3500 | £51.80 | 3500 | £54.95 | 3500 | £53.55 |
4000 | £59.20 | 4000 | £62.80 | 4000 | £61.20 |
4500 | £66.60 | 4500 | £70.65 | 4500 | £68.85 |
5000 | £74.00 | 5000 | £78.50 | 5000 | £76.50 |
Who Might Find the Intelligent Drive Pack Less Suitable?
Despite its attractions, this tariff isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. My analysis shows that for many, other options might be better:
- Lower to Average Mileage Drivers: If you don’t drive extensively each month, you’ll likely pay less by using a standard EV-friendly tariff like Octopus Go or Intelligent Octopus Go, which offer cheap overnight rates (e.g., 7p-9.5p/kWh). For example, charging 200 kWh a month (roughly 600-800 miles depending on EV efficiency) at 7.5p/kWh would cost £15 – half the price of the Drive Pack.
- Users Who Can Optimise Whole-House Off-Peak Usage: Tariffs like Intelligent Octopus Go (IOG) not only provide cheap electricity for your EV but also for your entire home during the off-peak window (typically 6 hours overnight). If you can shift significant household consumption (washing machine, dishwasher, storage heaters, etc.) to these hours, the overall savings on IOG could far outweigh the benefits of the Drive Pack, even if your EV charging cost component is slightly higher than £30. Many users on forums like Reddit highlight that IOG often works out better if you can be disciplined with your household usage.
- Those Needing Frequent Daytime Boosts: If your driving patterns often require significant charging outside the scheduled overnight smart charging slots, the cost of these “boost” charges at your standard day rate could quickly negate the value of the £30 flat fee.
- People Without Compatible EVs/Chargers or Smart Meters: This is a fundamental requirement. Without the compatible tech, you can’t access this tariff.
Key Considerations from the Community:
Discussions on platforms like Reddit (specifically the r/OctopusEnergy subreddit) regarding the Intelligent Drive Pack highlight a few key points which align with my own findings:
- Break-Even Point: Many users have crunched the numbers and concluded that the mileage break-even point to make it cheaper than IOG is quite high.
- Value of Whole-House Cheap Rates: The ability to run other appliances on IOG’s cheap overnight rate is a significant factor for many, often making IOG the more economical choice overall.
- Simplicity vs. Optimisation: The Drive Pack scores for simplicity; IOG scores for those willing to optimise.
- Fair Use: While “unlimited” is used, there’s an expectation of fair use. Extremely high users (e.g., commercial-level charging) might eventually attract scrutiny, though current terms and conditions are less explicit about a hard cap than some earlier versions might have been.
Making the Right Choice for You
The Octopus Intelligent Drive Pack offers an interesting proposition, particularly for high-mileage EV drivers who value cost predictability and simplicity for