ScottishPower EV tariff 2026: EV Saver and Optimise explained.

ScottishPower is one of the UK's largest energy suppliers and offers dedicated electricity tariffs designed for EV drivers. The core benefit is a significantly cheaper overnight rate, available during a set off-peak window, so you charge your car at a fraction of the standard daytime cost.

ScottishPower supplies the whole of Great Britain and uses 100% renewable electricity. For EV drivers who want to combine lower charging costs with greener energy, it is a credible option, particularly if you are already a ScottishPower customer and want to avoid switching supplier.

There are two EV tariff products: EV Saver, which gives you a fixed cheap overnight window, and EV Optimise, which provides more flexibility around when your cheap rate applies. Both require a smart meter.

EV Saver is ScottishPower's straightforward overnight EV tariff. You get a cheap unit rate from midnight to 5am every night. Outside that window, you pay the standard day rate for all your electricity, including EV charging.

The five-hour window is the same length as competing tariffs from Octopus Go and others. At 7kW, five hours of charging delivers up to 35kWh: enough to add around 120 miles of range to a typical EV. For most drivers who charge overnight on a consistent schedule, this window is more than sufficient.

To make full use of EV Saver, you need a smart charger or an EV with departure-time scheduling. Set your car or charger to begin charging at midnight and you will typically reach full charge, or close to it, before the cheap window ends at 5am.

Best for: drivers with a predictable overnight routine who plug in at roughly the same time each evening.

EV Optimise is ScottishPower's more flexible EV product. Rather than a fixed overnight window, the cheap rate is applied during periods that may shift to reflect grid conditions. This can mean accessing even cheaper electricity when renewable generation is high and grid demand is low.

EV Optimise is better suited to drivers with a smart charger that can respond to price signals, or those whose schedule means they cannot guarantee plugging in at midnight each night. The flexibility comes with a little more complexity: you need to understand when your cheap periods apply, rather than simply setting a fixed schedule.

Best for: drivers with compatible smart charging hardware and an interest in grid-responsive charging to minimise costs further.

The off-peak rate on EV Saver is typically competitive with other major UK EV tariffs, sitting in the range of 8–12p/kWh at the time of writing, depending on region and current ScottishPower pricing. The standard day rate is approximately 24.5p/kWh in line with the Ofgem price cap.

To illustrate the saving: a driver covering 12,000 miles per year in an EV averaging 3.5 miles per kWh uses around 3,430 kWh for home charging annually. At 24.5p/kWh (standard rate) that is £840 per year. At 9p/kWh (EV Saver off-peak rate) the same mileage costs around £309. The annual saving is roughly £530.

Standing charges apply and vary by region. ScottishPower publishes current rates on their website. The monthly rolling contract means you can leave at any time without an exit fee.

All ScottishPower EV tariffs require a second-generation smart meter (SMETS2). The smart meter allows ScottishPower to record your half-hourly usage and apply the correct rate for each period: cheap overnight, and standard during the day.

If your home does not yet have a smart meter, or has an older SMETS1 meter, ScottishPower will arrange a free upgrade as part of the tariff switch process. Installation is usually completed within a few weeks of applying.

1. 01
   Check your current contract

   If you are on a fixed-rate tariff with another supplier, check for exit fees before switching. Variable-rate and standard-rate tariffs rarely have exit fees.
2. 02
   Confirm or arrange a smart meter

   ScottishPower will confirm your meter type during the application. If you need an upgrade, they will book the installation as part of the process.
3. 03
   Apply via the ScottishPower website

   Complete the online application with your postcode, current energy usage, and payment details. New customers go through a standard switch process; existing customers can change tariff directly.
4. 04
   Set your charger to the off-peak window

   Once your EV Saver tariff is live, set your charger or car to begin charging at midnight. For EV Optimise, follow the guidance in the ScottishPower app to connect your charging schedule.
5. 05
   Check your first bill

   Verify the off-peak rate is showing correctly on your first statement. Contact ScottishPower's customer service team if anything looks wrong.

Your ScottishPower EV tariff works with any smart home EV charger. Since June 2022, all new home chargers sold in the UK must be smart chargers by law, so if your charger was installed recently it already supports overnight scheduling.

For EV Saver, the most reliable approach is to set a fixed schedule: tell your charger or car to start at midnight and finish at 5am. Almost all current home chargers and EVs support this via their app or on-board settings.

For EV Optimise, a charger with API connectivity or one that supports dynamic pricing signals will work best. The Ohme Home Pro and Hypervolt Home 3 are both worth considering if you are installing a new charger alongside switching tariff.

If you are yet to install a home charger, it is worth getting that sorted before switching tariff. See our guide to the best home EV chargers for a comparison of current models, or our EV tariff comparison guide to see how ScottishPower sits alongside Octopus, E.ON, and EDF.