Almost one in ten new cars bought in Australia in 2024 was an electric vehicle. As more household’s make the switch, more energy retailers are offering special EV electricity plans. So, if you own an EV, is it worth having an EV electricity plan?
To answer the question, WATTever has done the analysis to see when it makes sense to choose an EV plan. Spoiler alert – generally, EV plans work out really well!
EVs significantly increase your power needs
A typical EV that travels 15,000km a year requires around 3,000kWh of electricity. That can add 50-70% more energy to an average household’s power use. While a fast charger is essential for a long road trip, at 40-80 cents/kWh, you are paying a big premium for a quick top-up.
The most convenient and cheapest place to power an EV is from your home. Ideally, charging from your own solar or someone else’s around the middle of the day or overnight when the car is garaged at home.
What makes EV electricity plans different?
Typically, EV plans require proof that you own an electric vehicle to be eligible, enabling you to access to exclusive super off-peak rates for home charging. For example, on some EV plans, this can be as low as 5 cents/kWh for overnight charging, while “free power” plans provide a small window of free home EV charging during the middle of the day. You can see the appeal of low-cost charging and why EV households will want to charge at home as much as possible.
An added benefit of EV plans is that you can run whatever appliances you like during the super off-peak windows at the same super low rate. That’s because your meter doesn’t differentiate between EV charging and general electricity usage on your households main circuit! If you have a dedicated controlled load (such as off-peak hot water), then controlled load rates will still apply the power used on this circuit.
But what about the rest of the rates? Like solar plans, EV plans’ usage and supply rates tend to be higher, to recoup (what are often) loss-making super off-peak rates for the retailer. To make it worthwhile, you’ll want to charge enough at home so the savings from the super low-cost home charging outweigh the higher general rates. This tipping point happens quite quickly.
When it makes sense to move to an EV plan.
We’ve done the numbers to see when stepping up to an EV electricity plan makes sense.
Here’s a quick run down of the scenario our team costed.
The household uses the benchmark amount of energy annually to heat, cool, light and power everything non-EV. To keep it simple, there’s no solar factored. (We note that EV plans like ENGIE’s Flex Charge offer a big 10 cent/kWH feed-in tariff and no caps (at 28.3.2025) making this a great option for big solar homes).
The tariff type is a Time of Use. That’s because EV plans typically require smart or interval meters to measure the super off-peak charging periods.
The vehicle we chose was the Telsa Model Y (which was the highest selling EV in Australia in 2024) with an electricity consumption of 17kWh per 100km of driving. This consumption is typical of most EVs.
We compared the annual costs of the EV plans against the cheapest generally available plan. Plans were costed with charging in 5,000km increments (80% of this is charged at home). In each increment, the EV needs an 680kWh of electricity of home charging to power their journey!
Our household is motivated to charge during the super off-peak periods. And we limit the charging to a maximum of 6kWh for each hour in the super off-peak charging window which should be readily achievable for any home with a single phase 32A charging station.
For those plans with limited super off-peak charging periods – some have just four hours per week – our model shifts any charging that can’t be completed in the super off-peak window to the next cheapest cost electricity period e.g. off-peak or general usage rate depending on the tariff.
Households on EV plans also make a saving on general electricity rates use during the super off-peak period. So, our analysis allocates general consumption that happens during the super off-peak period based on the hourly electricity consumption profile for benchmark households. This is conservative, as motivated households can often shift a lot more general electricity use into the super cheap periods.
It doesn’t take long for EV plans to stack up.
Plans offering cheap daytime charging windows offer exceptional value – if your car is at home to take advantage of this. While EV plans with night time charging are generally very competitive against the cheapest available plans, for households with EV vehicles travelling 10,000km or more per year. Plus, the more EV owners home charge, the greater the savings with EV plans.
EV plan costs in NSW – Ausgrid network
(Rates as at 28th March 2025)
EV plan costs in SE Queensland – Energex network
(Rates as at 28th March 2025)
EV plan costs in Victoria
(Rates as at 28th March 2025)
Annual cost as calculated by WATTever for a 4000kWh/year benchmark household on 7 day Time of Use tariff in CitiPower network (Victoria) PLUS additional usage cost of charging EV as at 21.11.2023. All assumptions outlined in the article including 80% of EV charging from home. Plans and costs change so make sure to compare the latest offers on WATTever.com.au
EV plan costs in South Australia
(Rates as at 28th March 2025)
Getting the right EV plan for you.
It’s essential to check the super off-peak hours and consider whether this will work for your situation. Most EV plans provide super off-peak periods overnight. However, there are now a number of “Day Saver” EV plans offering lower-cost middle-of-the-day charging as result of the lower wholesale costs and network costs (such as solar sponge tariffs). Of course, if your EV is not at home for enough of the super off-peak period, then you’ll have to top up at higher rates to meet your driving needs!Â
Also, consider the level of home charging you think you’ll do. If you’re using a slow charging station (perhaps the portable EVSE that came with the car) then you may need to look for EV plans with longer super off-peak periods. Or, consider buying a faster charging station that will allow you to take advantage of plans that offer shorter “free” charging periods (often just 2 or 3 hours). For most EV owners, given the convenience of home charging and the appeal of accessing low-cost energy, it’s well worth considering the shift to an EV or “free power” plan.
Overnight Saver EV Plans.
EV electricity plans have focussed on super-off-peak overnight charging windows – typically from midnight to 6 am. Most EVs are garaged overnight, so it’s certainly convenient. However, overnight energy comes from relatively more expensive fossil fuels. So, it’s unsurprising that the late-night super off-peak charge rates are offset by slightly higher plan rates across other periods. I suspect we’re in a honeymoon period for low-cost overnight charging rates – while retailers woo EV owners with generous offers.
Daytime charging from solar.
Many EV owners will want to charge their vehicles from rooftop solar as this is often the lowest-cost energy source. Certainly on weekends and during the week if a car is at home around the middle of the day this makes perfect sense.Â
Even if you don’t have solar, we’re now starting to see low-cost daytime charging with more retailers likely to bring Daytime EV Saver plans to market. This is driven by cheap daytime renewable energy in the grid and networks offering daytime off-peak. So, EV owners can anticipate being able to fill up with affordable renewable energy during the middle of the day.
What’s the right plan for me?
We’ve enhanced WATTever’s comprehensive electricity comparison to account for EV plans offering super-off peak charging.
Firstly, if you already have an EV plan with super off-peak EV charging, you can now input the kWh of EV charging into your energy profile. This enables you to see how other plans compare side-by-side.
Secondly, existing or new EV owners, can now dial in how many kilometres they drive annually and how much they’ll charge from home. Then, the comparison will recalculate based on this power being provided through the super off-peak rates from the EV plans, and the lowest cost periods for other plans.
You can select one of four EV vehicle sizes (hatchback, crossover, sedan and SUV) to account for different power needs. The comparison assumes a maximum 6KWh home wall charger. The calculation factors that households will use the super off-peak charging windows first, then any more power needed is costed from the next cheapest usage window.
