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  "path": "/lifestyle/cars/drivers-paid-electric-car-home-charger-ohme",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-05T11:37:30.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "UK city eyes new road charges for petrol and diesel drivers in blow to thousands - 'Start the conversation'",
    "Chinese brands see car sales spike as BYD and Jaecoo seek 'even greater future success'",
    "Traffic disruptions along major motorway prompts new taskforce to tackle 'weekly' driving issue",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nThousands of drivers have been paid to charge their electric vehicles as part of a trial, with experts calling for further support to benefit motorists.\n\nOhme has rewarded electric car owners with £750,000 through an energy flexibility trial in partnership with Crowdflex.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe trial was conducted between May 2024 and September 2025 to see how households can increase flexibility in the national grid by changing energy use habits.\n\nThe Crowdflex trial saw drivers encouraged to charge their electric vehicles whenever they were at home, with owners being rewarded for their charging.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe trial, which was led by the National Electricity System Operator (NESO) for Great Britain, allowed Ohme to have more time to manage charging sessions.\n\nThis was done by having motorists plug their electric cars in for a longer period of time, and more often than they normally would.\n\nOhme, which is the UK's largest electric home charging company, reported that the trial was successful in helping the management of grid services.\n\nIt saw plug-in rates surge by 40 per cent, allowing drivers to unlock more rewards, in addition to lowering carbon emissions.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nDavid Watson, CEO of Ohme, suggested that domestic charging flexibility could help drivers save more than £470million a year in energy costs by 2036.\n\n\"We've demonstrated that our customers will shift their plug-in behaviour when needed, delivering significant flexible capacity through dynamic automated charging,\" he added.\n\nDespite the success of the trial, Mr Watson called on the Government and other key players to support the initiative.\n\nHe said better coordination would give \"greater value and more rewards to our customers\" when charging their electric vehicles at home.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * UK city eyes new road charges for petrol and diesel drivers in blow to thousands - 'Start the conversation'\n  * Chinese brands see car sales spike as BYD and Jaecoo seek 'even greater future success'\n  * Traffic disruptions along major motorway prompts new taskforce to tackle 'weekly' driving issue\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nMore than 400 flexibility events took place over 13 months of trials in which Ohme turned up or turned down home chargers depending on what was required from the grid.\n\nUp to 20,000 customers were used in each trial, with almost 150MW of electricity being \"flexed\" in the biggest trial by any home EV charging company.\n\nMarzia Zafar, Deputy Director of Governance for Data and Digitalisation at Ofgem, said: \"Crowdflex is more than a trial, it's a blueprint for the future of domestic flexibility.\n\n\"By developing real-life data-driven models that demonstrate how households can reliably support the grid, were laying the foundation for a smarter, more decentralised energy system.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\"This work is critical to delivering the ambitions of Clean Power by 2030 and ensuring that consumers are at the heart of the energy transition.\"\n\nThe Crowdflex project is being delivered by Ohme, OVO, Centre for Net Zero, ERM, AWS, National Grid Electricity Distribution and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks.\n\nIt has also received backing through Ofgem's Strategic Innovation Fund in partnership with Innovate UK.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards:The GB News Editorial Charter **",
  "title": "Drivers across UK paid £750,000 to charge electric cars at home in landmark energy trial"
}