Fleet drivers could lose out from Ofgem price cap change

Fleet drivers could be more than £1,000 a year worse off on energy bills if they don’t get the best electricity tariff for home and vehicle charging, according to website, Rightcharge.co.uk.

The news comes following an increase in energy prices on 1 April 2021, which has meant that drivers who charge company vehicles at home will now have larger electricity utility bills to pay.

But fleet drivers could uptake EV-friendly energy tariffs to cover charging electric vehicles, benefiting from lower car charging rates at home and the tariffs will also reduce their home energy costs at the same time.

For example, a fleet driver covering 20,000 miles annually will expect to pay £2,599 a year on a Standard Variable Tariff from one of the big six energy suppliers from April 2021. This includes £1,454 for charging their car. But users who switch to a lower-cost alternative EV energy tariff could pay only £1,349 a year – with just £459 of that amount on vehicle charging – saving of £995 on charging a vehicle at home, with another £255 saved on household energy bills. So that’s a total saving of £1,250 a year.

Charlie Cook, founder of Rightcharge.co.uk, said: “Compared to a standard tariff, having an EV-friendly energy tariff is incredibly cheap – to the point where a homeowner can charge their car at home and reduce their total energy bills at the same time. A fleet driver who does 20,000 miles a year can save up to £1,250 a year, so drivers really can’t afford to miss out on the savings available if they change to the right deal.

“If all the current 1.04 million business contract hire drivers switched to electric cars and an EV-friendly energy tariff on the same mileage parameters, the potential saving is more than £1 billion on vehicle charging alone, plus a further £265 million on home energy costs.”

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