British Gas & RAC team up for home charging offer
The UK motoring organisation RAC and British Gas have joined forces to facilitate EV drivers installing home charging points. The new partnership also includes a special electricity tariff, while Alfen will deliver the charging equipment.
In concrete terms, British Gas, belonging to Centrica, and RAC will offer a 7kW home charge point installed by a British Gas engineer. In addition, the bespoke electricity tariff includes cheaper off-peak overnight charging with energy from renewables.
Alfen will deliver the Eve S-Line Untethered charge point with either fixed or removable cables. Prices range from £659 and £745 for the tethered version. Both chargers can be controlled via a smartphone using the Hive app. It allows drivers to see if the car is plugged in and charging and to schedule charges to take place overnight when the electricity rate is cheaper. The partners specify rates at 6p per kWh when charging between 12-5 am and estimates this could save up to £300 on a home electric bill. In addition, British Gas says it will match 100% of the electricity used for this tariff to electricity from renewable sources. Prices can be fixed until 30 June 2023.
To take advantage of the RAC-e Tariff, which has no exit fee, customers will need to have a British Gas electric smart meter installed so their off-peak charging can be tracked. If a property doesn’t have an existing British Gas smart meter, one will be fitted free of charge.
For RAC, the new partnership is yet another extension of the e-mobility offering. The organisation only announced in May it would install mobile chargers in 20% of its road assistance vans. RAC EV Boost was launched as a 3.5kW charger in April 2019. The RAC and equipment partner Original ADS managed to develop a new 5kW unit capable of faster charging. Development work is also underway for a mobile 7.5kW charger.
Summarising the latest efforts, RAC director of EVs Sarah Winward-Kotecha said: “Combine all this with RAC EV breakdown cover, which is unrivalled in the roadside assistance market, and drivers now have everything they need to affordably switch to a zero-emission car with complete peace of mind.”
The RAC has also teamed up with leasing specialist Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions to give drivers the chance to lease various EVs at affordable rates. Models include the Nissan Leaf, Vauxhall Corsa-e, Peugeot e-2008, MG ZS Electric and the Mercedes-Benz EQC AMG Line.
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