Up to 1,000 electric vehicle owners will be offered financial incentives to charge their vehicle off-peak in a new trial of a market-led approach to smart charging.

UK Power Networks has launched the trial, called Shift. It aims to develop a large-scale, smart charging solution that can be rolled out nationwide by flexibility service providers like chargepoint operators, aggregators and energy suppliers.

The network company is working with Octopus Energy, Ovo’s intelligent energy platform Kaluza and charge point operator Pod Point to explore the different business models and market mechanisms to deliver benefits from smart charging. It is recruiting up to 1,000 members of the public in London, the South and East of England (where it delivers power) who own an electric vehicle and charge it at home.

Recruitment for the trial will begin in August and according to Kaluza (which will deliver 300 charge points) smart chargers will be available through electric vehicle charger installer ChargedEV and OVO Energy.  Customers who are eligible for the trial will receive an email about participation.

Ian Cameron, head of innovation at UK Power Networks, said: “Stakeholders have told us that a smart charging market is what they’d like to see because it gives them both choice and freedom over how they charge their electric vehicle. Listening to this feedback, we are working with others to design new devices that enable customers to benefit from the low carbon transport revolution.

Further reading

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