Public smart charging trial highlights big EV savings

Smart charging enables vehicles to charge when electricity rates are at their lowest, saving drivers money as well as helping to smooth the grid demand, reducing peak demand by as much as 240MW. But the technology is generally not available at public chargers, with only those who charge at home able to avail of off-peak tariffs.

The Agile Streets project saw a consortium of players come together to deliver the trial with 100 Connected Kerb on-street EV chargers deployed at 17 sites across four local authorities – Shropshire, Hackney, Glasgow and East Lothian. Over the course of six months, 2,451 charging sessions took place, totalling 51,618kWh of energy. It was found that drivers could save £604.65 per year in charging costs compared to traditional non-smart public charging – equivalent to UK-wide collective savings of over £4.1bn a year by 2030. The trial also highlighted how smart charging could enhance the value of running an EV versus a petrol vehicle, as energy costs have reduced the per-mile advantage in recent months.