With the growth of electric vehicles, the energy (retail) landscape is expected to completely revolutionize in the coming years. Our CBO Jorg van Heesbeen shares five key takeaways that energy retailers should remember when it comes to energy retail and e-mobility:

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1. E-mobility equals high-value customers 

Customers that have one (or multiple EVs) and can charge at home form a unique demographic. Higher income, bigger houses, more digital and green minded. Even on the gas/heat consumption EV drivers consume about 50 – 60 % more compared to the average household. All these traits create a perfect fit with today's modern energy retailers that focus on digital and green.  

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2. Energy prices are going through the roof, and so is the value of flexibility and the interest to save on energy costs. ‍

During the early days of the EV boom electricity was cheap and life was somehow simpler. Energy rates before taxes were fluctuating around 4 - 6 c/kWh and optimizing and spot or balancing markets perhaps saved you something like 2 -3 c/kWh. The costs for driving an EV were extremely low, particularly compared to other costs for driving an electric car. Times have changed and boy they are remarkable. In some cases, electricity prices are now reaching limits where driving an EV might be even more expensive than driving an ICE vehicle. This has completely changed the game for EV drivers. EV drivers feel the pain and have greater needs to somehow optimize these costs. Smart charging has the key to do this. Doing just a “simple” optimization on spot rates could already lower your energy procurement costs as a utility by more than 5 - 6 c/kWh. This is just the start, there is even more value by tapping into intraday, portfolio balancing, or balancing services, while you’re on it. ‍

3. Identify and entertain your EV community ‍

When serving thousands or millions of energy clients it is key to figure out who has an EV (and who doesn’t). Gathering this information via simple forms or by using data analytics like meter data disaggregation can help you to identify EV drivers in your portfolio. This allows you to pinpoint campaigns to the right people. Good to know that in practice we notice much higher (digital) engagement metrics for EV-related topics so your community will appreciate the effort. Don’t wait too long, because statistics (e.g. Delta EE) show that EV drivers are more prone to switch to the competition. ‍

4. Create a killer charging offer for (upcoming) EV drivers ‍

Creating an offer that bundles a charging station, energy, and smart charging is a unique advantage that can really make a difference. The margin in supplying energy and leveraging the flexibility of smart charging can really make an impact on your charging station offer. Make sure your energy community is aware of this offer and its advantages so when the time comes they opt in. It's up to you how you should best bundle this in a package or tariff, and we are happy to share some learnings and best practices around this.

5. Don’t forget about existing EV drivers.  ‍

Furthermore, you will notice that many of the EVs that you identify in step 3 already have a charging station installed at home. What now do you think? Well obviously, you want to keep them on board and offer them meaningful services. Thanks to our platform there is an option to offer a smart charging service to these customers by leveraging connected car and charger integrations on the Jedlix platform. Charging cards also provide this opportunity since these are services that can be switched easily.

What do you think of these takeaways? Anything that we should add? From smart charging apps, APIs to complete Virtual Power Plants, get support for any case you need to accelerate your e-mobility positioning. Learn more at www.jedlix.com/energy-retailers or contact us. 

When it comes to energy and e-mobility we can highly recommend attending the Delta EE New Energy Summit in Edinburgh on October 11/12. 

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