EV Electricity Plans: What to Compare Before Switching
EV-specific electricity plans may offer cheaper overnight rates during a defined cheap window, but the exact c/kWh numbers change by retailer, state and date. The trade-off is usually higher rates during the evening peak. Whether switching to an EV plan saves money depends entirely on whether you can actually charge the car inside that cheap window without shifting the rest of the household's usage into higher-rate periods.
- EV plans can offer cheap overnight charging with higher peak rates, but treat any c/kWh figure as plan-specific and check current retailer offers before switching.
- The plan only helps if the car charges overnight. If you regularly return home late and charge during the evening peak, a standard flat rate may be cheaper.
- Check the shoulder and peak rates — the off-peak rate headline looks attractive, but the evening peak rate increase may offset the saving for the rest of the household.
- EV plan names, rate structures and availability vary by retailer and state. Verify current offers before switching.
The four comparison checks
1. Your weekly driving distance
As an illustrative calculation, an EV using roughly 15–20kWh/100km over 150km/week needs about 22–30kWh to recharge. Multiply that by your actual off-peak and flat-rate offers rather than relying on a generic c/kWh example.
The potential saving from off-peak charging is real — but it scales with how much you drive. A low-mileage driver (under 80km/week) may not save enough through cheap overnight charging to justify a plan switch that increases daytime and evening rates.
2. Whether the car charges in the cheap window
Most EV plans define the cheap charging window as midnight to 6am or 11pm to 7am. The car needs to be:
- At home (not at work, not charged elsewhere)
- Plugged in and ready to charge
- Set to charge during the cheap window (most EVs have a scheduled charging feature)
The failure mode: a household that charges opportunistically in the evening (7–10pm) because that is when the car arrives home. Under most EV plans, 7–10pm is the peak period — you pay more, not less.
3. The rest of the household's usage during peak periods
Switching to an EV plan does not only change the EV charging cost — it changes the rate for every kWh the household uses.
The calculation: model your current evening kWh against the proposed peak rate, then compare that extra household cost with the EV charging saving. Use your actual bill and current retailer offer rates.
Example check: if the EV saving is smaller than the extra peak-period cost for the rest of the home, the EV plan can be worse overall. Treat this as an example method, not a current market quote.
This example is illustrative. The actual outcome depends on your specific rates, usage and driving pattern.
4. Solar and daytime charging as an alternative
If the car is home during the day and the household has rooftop solar, daytime charging from spare solar may be more valuable than overnight EV plan charging:
- Solar self-consumption rate: value depends on your actual feed-in tariff and import rate, so check the current plan rather than relying on a generic export figure
- Overnight EV plan rate: check the current retailer offer and conditions
If the car can charge during the solar peak (10am–3pm) at least on some days, the financial case for an EV-specific plan becomes weaker — standard time-of-use or flat rates combined with smart charging settings may perform comparably.
What to read on your current bill
Before switching, check your current bill for:
- Current usage rate (flat or time-of-use)
- Current daily supply charge
- Whether you already have time-of-use pricing
- Your current evening usage in kWh (from the retailer portal's half-hourly graph)
These numbers let you model whether the EV plan's structure is actually better for your specific usage pattern. Plan comparison sites (Energy Made Easy, Victorian Energy Compare) allow you to input your actual usage and compare plan costs.
An EV plan saves money when the car charges reliably in the cheap overnight window and the household's overall usage does not shift significantly into higher peak periods. Check your evening usage pattern and run the numbers before switching — the plan comparison sites make this straightforward.
Analyse your bill to understand your current usage pattern before comparing EV plan options.