ChargeUK has released a report ‘Delivering Affordable Charging for All’ that sets out how increases in energy costs have impacted the prices that drivers pay. The report also shares three deliverable steps Government can take to support cost-effective charging.
The ChargeUK paper sets out that:
- Public charging prices have risen 38% since 2021
- Price increases have been driven by a 79% increase in energy costs over the same period:
- Charge Point Operators (CPOs) face wholesale prices that are 66% above pre-Energy Crisis levels
- Standing charges have risen by 462% for rapid/ultra-rapid charging sites
- Rising policy costs risk increasing costs further by 2030.
The Government can tackle this in three ways:
- Tackle prohibitively high energy costs - accelerate implementation of DCP420/454 reforms and extend levy exemptions to the sector
- Boost the charging business case - extend the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) to support investment in commercially marginal sites, where rising costs have made deployment harder to justify
- Eliminate the VAT penalty - reduce VAT on public charging to 5% - in line with home charging.
ChargeUK will make the case to Government and Ofgem that decisive action will make a real difference to the EV transition: individual drivers and fleets make the switch to EVs when both vehicles and charging are competitive with their ICE equivalents.
More information on the ChargeUK website: Action on high energy costs needed to keep EV transition on track
