Octopus Energy Launches Its Own Home EV Charger

Octopus Energy is stepping deeper into EV infrastructure with its own home charger, branded Octopus Charge. The hardware is explicitly designed to pair with the company’s Intelligent Octopus Go tariff, which offers six hours of super-cheap overnight electricity for EV owners.

Product details and pricing

Octopus Charge comes in two versions: a tethered unit with a 5-meter cable priced at £999, and an untethered option for £899 that accepts any compatible cable. Both ships with a three-year warranty and full installation and support handled by Octopus.

How it integrates with Octopus services

The charger connects into the Octopus app to automate charging during the Intelligent Octopus Go window, which can offer rates as low as 7p per kWh overnight. For broader compatibility the charger supports switching to Plug and Charge mode and can operate with other suppliers if you leave Octopus.

Octopus also highlighted that full device control works best when a supplier runs its own OCPP platform. When that platform isn’t present, charging schedules can fall back to vehicle-side scheduling or standard Plug and Charge operation.

Why this matters

For existing Octopus customers the new charger simplifies enrollment, scheduling, and support — a clear win for convenience. It also strengthens Octopus’s ecosystem, making it easier to retain customers who benefit from deep tariff integration and single-app control.

At the same time, Octopus Charge keeps a pragmatic foot in the door for interoperability. Customers can move suppliers without being forced to replace hardware, and the unit supports standard vehicle and charger APIs where needed.

Market and grid implications

This move illustrates how energy retailers are vertically integrating hardware to simplify user experience and lock in behavioral changes like overnight charging. For grids, a wider installed base of schedulable chargers helps absorb variable demand and smooth peak loads, if the software controls are well implemented.

But it also raises questions about standards, third-party integration reliability, and the customer journey when switching suppliers. Octopus’s decision to preserve compatibility mitigates some friction, yet the best customer outcomes require robust back-end platforms and clear handoffs between charger, vehicle, and supplier.

How organizations should respond

If you’re a utility, fleet operator, or an EV leasing program, this announcement is a prompt to reassess your charging strategy. Consider:

• Whether owning hardware improves retention and what interoperability guarantees you must offer.
• How to run or integrate with OCPP platforms to schedule charging, monitor faults, and optimize tariffs.
• Data-driven forecasting to size charging windows, avoid grid strain, and set competitive overnight rates.

Octopus plans to sell Octopus Charge later this year, with early access for customers leasing through its vehicle program. Others can register interest on Octopus’s site as the company expands availability.

QuarkyByte’s approach would be to map those technical choices back to commercial outcomes: forecast adoption by tariff segment, define API and OCPP requirements, test failover modes for when a supplier platform isn’t present, and model the net effect on customer lifetime value. That kind of practical analysis is what separates a gadget launch from a sustained operational program.