Connected Kerb launches off-peak charging for on-street devices
On-street charging provider Connected Kerb has launched a new smart charging system that could save drivers a collective £1.5 billion a year.
The move allows users of its public devices to schedule charging to take advantage of cheaper and greener energy for the first time.
The firm says the new initiative could save drivers an average of £222 per year – the equivalent of 495 free miles of driving.
While drivers with home chargers have been able to take advantage of EV-specific tariffs that cut charging costs to as little as 5p/kWh overnight, EV owners reliant on on-street devices have had very few off-peak options.
Under the new system, drivers scheduling overnight charging will get access to a tariff of 45p/kWh, still substantially higher than the best domestic rates but 22.4% lower than the average cost of the UK’s fast charging network.
To take advantage of the lower rate, drivers simply plug into a Connected Kerb charger and use its app to schedule a charge from 7pm onward. Once plugged in and scheduled, charging will begin at midnight and carry on until 7am or until the car’s battery is fully charged.
Ben Boutcher-West, chief digital officer at Connected Kerb, said: “Public smart charging is the catalyst we need to create a fairer, greener, and cheaper charging network. We know that just under two thirds of people in the UK don’t have access to a home charger, which is why we’re committed to levelling the playing field between those who can access smart charging and those who can’t.
“By increasing the speed of charging when energy is cheapest, we can now offer drivers lower-cost tariffs, maximise the use of green energy and take strain off the grid.
“Our rollout of public smart charging isn’t just a major milestone for Connected Kerb, but the UK’s EV transition as a whole, bringing our public charging network one stop closer to democratising the gap between those with and without off-street parking.”
The rollout is starting in April and Connected Kerb says that by 2025 the majority of its devices will work with the new app and tariff. The firm currently has 6,000 charging posts installed around the country, with another 4,000 due to be deployed this year. The first areas to benefit from the new offering will be Lincoln, Scarborough, Ryedale, and Sunderland.
The network-wide rollout comes after Connected Kerb’s government-backed trial of public smart charging, Agile Streets, which revealed that smart public charging could cut peak energy demand by 240MW by 2030, the equivalent to boiling over 1.4m kettles.
