Octopus Labs
Unlock Free Smart EV Charging in Christchurch with Orion and Intelligent Octopus
Octopus Energy, in partnership with Orion in Christchurch, is thrilled to launch an exclusive opportunity for both new and existing customers: free EV charging when Intelligent Octopus manages your vehicle charging for consumers with a smart charger (4kW+). Only available at your property being supplied by Octopus Energy.
When we manage your EV charging with Intelligent Octopus we determine when your EV will charge based on what’s happening in the local network. If you pause our Intelligent Octopus management you’ll pay the normal price for charging your EV.
This smart service automatically optimises your charging schedule to seamlessly support the local electricity network, reducing strain and helping to balance the local grid.
Offer Details
The Unbeatable Offer: If you have a smart charger (4kW+) Get free EV charging when charged with Intelligent Octopus managing your charging, regardless of your current Octopus plan. For any charging not managed by intelligent Octopus (for example where you choose to pause control or bump charge) you will pay your standard electricity rates. Charging away from home is not included.
Limited Time & Space: Free charging when charged with Intelligent Octopus is from now until 1st November 2026. Act fast, as participation is initially limited to the first 100 customers (with the possibility of expansion later).
Simple Rebate Process: You will be billed normally, but each month you'll receive a credit on your bill to fully rebate you for the cost of electricity used during your managed charging sessions.
Who Can Join? The offer is available to both new and existing Octopus Energy customers in the Orion network area. You’ll need an eligible EV or EV charger. Free charging is only applicable at your property supplied by Octopus Energy.
Eligibility Check: Your EV or charger needs to be compatible with Intelligent Octopus. These are:
Tesla vehicle + any smart charger (4kW+)
Wallbox charger (4kW+) & any EV
MyEnergi charger (4kW+) & any EV
Not on the list? Request an integration
Technical Requirement: Your charger must be capable of charging at a minimum of 4kW. Please note that if your charging setup frequently limits charging below this rate, you will not be eligible for this scheme.
Charge Your Way: You retain full control over your charging. You can pause Intelligent Octopus's control or use the 'boost' function to “charge now” at any time. However, using the 'charge now' function will be billed at your normal plan rates.
This is a beta trial - it won’t be perfect but you can help us make the electricity system work smarter
This is a beta trial. Performance of your EV and our technology depends on the wifi and communications connections, they’ll work most of the time but not every time. By agreeing to participate in this trial you accept that there is a risk of us not being able to optimise your EV, or that charging takes place at suboptimal times. If there is a problem that prevents us optimising your EV or we are unable to automatically collect the information to confirm its performance, as required by the network, you will not receive the rebate.
Existing Customer?
FAQs
Only that you need either an EV or charger that works with Intelligent Octopus and your property is in the Orion network. We’re able to provide free charging by managing charging so it occurs when the network isn’t strained. This is a trial with Orion until November. We receive signals from Orion’s load forecast systems and use Intelligent Octopus, to control the charging to keep it away from times of high network load.
A normal 3-pin plug charger (often the portable cable that comes with your car) runs at around 2kW. To consistently hit a minimum of 4kW, you will need a dedicated wall charger. If you only use a slower 2kW charger, Intelligent Octopus has to charge your car almost constantly to ensure it is full by the morning. For example, if your car's battery is 60kWh and you were charging from 50%, it would that around 15hrs to charge to 100%. This means we cannot "shift" your charging away from times of high network demand to help balance the local grid.
Because shifting load is the primary goal of this offer, setups that frequently drop below the 4kW minimum may need to be removed from the scheme.
You can use the link from your mobile device to connect your charger or EV to Octopus.
If you already have the Octopus app installed, the link will open the Devices section where you can add your device.
If you don’t have the Octopus app installed, the link will redirect you to the relevant app store so you can download it first.
At this stage, the link is not supported on desktop devices.
When you connect your EV or charger to Intelligent Octopus through the Octopus Energy app, the first thing you set is the battery %, and “ready by time”. When you plug your car in, Intelligent Octopus calculates the required charging schedule to meet your required state of charge by the time you set. That is the first priority. Assuming you plug in at say 5pm and need the car fully charged by 7am, Intelligent Octopus talks with your car to determine its current state of charge. Then by knowing the charging speed, can determine it needs, for example, allow for 5 hours between now and 7am. Intelligent Octopus will ensure it charges 5 hours, but will then determine the "best" 5 hours to choose according to the network signal from Orion and the wholesale market.
If however you need to charge your car immedialy, you can always override the control by going into the Octopus app and selecting "Boost Charge". This will start the car charging immediately. Just be aware that this will not count towards your free charging rebate, and you will be charged your standard rates as per your Octopus plan.
You can initiate immediate charging, known as a "Boost charge," at any time via the Octopus Energy app. Please note that while you are free to use this feature, the charging will be billed at your standard electricity rate. Charging initiated in this manner (whether through the Octopus app or your EV/Charger app) will not be eligible for this specific offer.
Only that charging must be managed by Intelligent Octopus. If you manually charge using the "Boost charge" function on the Octopus app, or through the car or charger's separate apps, it will not register as Intelligent Octopus charging, and will be subject to your standard electricity rates.
No, you just need to be an Octopus customer. This offer is available as an add-on to any of our electricity plans.
The electricity used whilst charging through Intelligent Octopus will initially appear on your bill and in the app as normal, and charged at your current rates. At the end of each month, we will check how much charging was done, and the time it was done. We will then issue a credit to your account to offset the cost of the charging. This credit will appear on your account by the middle of the following month.
After this offer period, you can continue to charge through Intelligent Octopus, however you will be charged the standard electricity rates on your plan. Intelligent Octopus will continue to prioritise charging at the cheapest times for you.
Octopus and Orion are collaborating on a trial to reward customers for optimizing their electricity usage. Orion provides a network signal indicating times of high network congestion, which Intelligent Octopus uses to identify "good" and "bad" times for EV charging. By directing EV charging away from these "bad" congestion times, Orion can potentially defer expensive network upgrades, thus reducing costs for all customers across the network.
This offer is only until the 30th of October 2026. Orion are committed to utilising “non network solutions” like this trial.
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