EV drivers secure £100,000 of rewards in energy flexibility trials

EV drivers using Ohme smart chargers have been rewarded with more than £100,000 for taking part in winter energy flexibility trials.

Ohme customers who signed up to take part in the Winter Crowdflex trials have enjoyed the rewards in the form of high street vouchers as the home charger specialist works with energy regulator Ofgem to explore ways to balance the UK’s energy demands.

The CrowdFlex trial is an Ofgem project involving Ohme and led by the Electricity System Operator for Great Britain (ESO) and is the UK’s largest domestic energy flexibility study. It is intended to encourage drivers to plug in wherever possible and assess the potential for incorporating EV charging into grid management and planning.

Participating drivers are asked to plug their cars in whenever they are parked at home, rather than just when they have scheduled a charge. This potentially allows energy suppliers to manage grid services, including shifting electricity usage to off-peak times. In return drivers receive financial rewards and any scheduled charging is not interrupted.

A previous trial in summer 2024 saw 80% more customers plugging their car in during the day and 50% plugging in overnight.

Ohme CEO David Watson said: “Crowdflex is Ohme’s biggest ever flex trial to date, showing discernable progress and strengthening our belief in the material impact that domestic customers can have in providing grid flexibility services.

“With grid flexibility services estimated to save consumers £10bn per year in energy costs by 2050 and with Ohme looking to help even more customers in 2025 with our ongoing trials, we are looking forward to further demonstrating the important role domestic customers can play in the drive towards Net Zero.”

The rewards have mounted up, despite only being halfway through the trial – which started in September 2024 and runs until April 2025.