Octopus Power Pack explained: free EV charging with vehicle-to-grid
The UK's first vehicle-to-grid tariff add-on: what Octopus offers, the one car and charger pair it lists, and the rules you sign up to.
Tariff facts, checked 28 October 2026
| Octopus Power Pack | Vehicle-to-grid add-on |
|---|---|
| Cheap rate | Free EV charging while Octopus manages your V2G charger |
| Times | Plugged in 12 hours a day on 20 days a month |
| You need | A V2G-enabled BYD Dolphin with a V2G-enabled Zaptec Pro, and no existing solar or battery export |
Quick answers
- Power Pack sits on top of your normal import tariff; Octopus manages your V2G charger and your EV charging is free.
- Octopus lists one compatible pair: a V2G-enabled BYD Dolphin with a V2G-enabled Zaptec Pro.
- You need to be plugged in 12 hours a day on 20 days a month and charge less than 210kWh a month, about 625 miles.
- It is only for homes that do not already export from solar or a battery.
Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) lets an electric car send power back to the grid as well as take it. Octopus Power Pack is the UK’s first tariff built around it: Octopus uses your car’s battery to help balance the grid, and in return your home charging is free.
How it works
Power Pack is an add-on to your normal Octopus import tariff. Octopus manages a V2G charger at your home. When the grid is under strain, typically in the evening, Octopus can discharge some energy from your car; when power is cheap and plentiful, it charges the car back up. Octopus says power from the car covers your home’s use first, with any excess going to the grid.
Who can get it
When we checked, Octopus listed a single compatible combination:
- a V2G-enabled BYD Dolphin, and
- a V2G-enabled Zaptec Pro charger.
Octopus EV offers these as the Power Pack Bundle, with the car on lease and the charger fitted by Octopus. Most electric cars cannot yet send power back to a home, so Power Pack is not open to most drivers today.
The rules
- Be plugged in 12 hours a day on 20 days a month.
- Charge less than 210kWh a month, which Octopus puts at about 625 miles of driving.
- Set your minimum charge level below 30%, so Octopus can still discharge when the grid needs it most.
- Have a smart meter registered for export.
- No existing export from solar panels or a home battery.
- Use a compatible import tariff: Octopus says most work, but not Tracker, Agile or its Intelligent Octopus tariffs.
What Octopus says it saves
Octopus estimates a typical V2G driver covering 7,500 miles a year saves £620 a year against its standard variable tariff and £161 against Intelligent Octopus Go. That is Octopus’s figure, not ours.
Who it suits
Drivers who are home and plugged in for long periods, drive moderate distances, have no solar or battery export, and are happy to lease the specific car and charger. For everyone else, Intelligent Octopus Go remains the cheapest Octopus route for home charging. Watch this space: more two-way cars are on the way.
How we test and where our numbers come from
Tariff times, rules and rates come from Octopus Energy's own tariff pages and its public price API on the date shown. Off-peak rates quoted are national; day rates and standing charges vary by region, so check your postcode. EV Compared earns a referral reward if you switch through our Octopus links; it does not change what we write. Last checked 28 October 2026. How we work out our own figures.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Power Pack with my own V2G car?
Only if your car and charger are on Octopus's compatibility list. When we checked, that list had one combination: a V2G-enabled BYD Dolphin with a V2G-enabled Zaptec Pro, offered as a bundle through Octopus EV.
Will Power Pack drain my battery?
Octopus discharges the car to support the grid at peak times, but you set a minimum charge level. Octopus says this must be below 30% so it can still discharge when the grid needs it.
Which tariffs work with Power Pack?
Octopus says it works with most tariffs but not Tracker, Agile (import or export) or its Intelligent Octopus tariffs.
Sources and further reading
- octopus.energyOctopus Energy: EV tariffs (Power Pack)UK's first V2G tariff; add to your regular tariff; all EV charging free; checked 28 October 2026
- octopus.energyOctopus Energy: Octopus Power PackCompatible pair; 12 hours a day, 20 days a month, under 210kWh a month; minimum charge below 30%; tariff exclusions; typical saving £620 against Flexible Octopus and £161 against Intelligent Octopus Go for 7,500 miles a year; read 26 October 2026
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