It now costs 42% more to charge an electric car away from home

THE rising cost of energy has seen the prices people pay to rapid-charge their electric cars go up by 42%.

According to the RAC, there has been an 18.75p rise since May, with the average price now at 63.29p per kilowatt hour (kWh).

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This means it now costs EV drivers an average of £32.41 to rapid-charge a typical family-sized electric car with a 64kWh battery to 80%.

That’s up nearly £10 (£9.60) since May and £13.59 compared with a year ago.

Those choosing to use ‘ultra-rapid’ chargers that have a power output of more than 100kW have suffered an average charging cost increase of 25%.

The RAC says drivers who only use a rapid or ultra-rapid charger on the public network will now pay around 18p per mile for electricity, up from an average of 13p per litre in May.

Compared with combustion engines, that still works out cheaper, as it’s 19p per mile for a petrol car and 21p per mile for a diesel one, based on someone getting an average of 40mpg in either case.

It’s no secret that charging your EV at home is far cheaper than on a public point – despite domestic energy prices also rising dramatically.

But the fact is, many people can’t and never will be able to charge at home and the RAC is worried the vast gap between home and public charging costs will put people off making the switch to an EV.

Some of the most expensive public charging rates were recently announced by Osprey, which is now charging £1 per kWh.

In the most extreme cases, owners of cars like the Mercedes EQS and BMW iX SUVs with their large batteries could end up spending as much as £100 for a full charge using an Osprey point.

RAC EV spokesperson Simon Williams said: “For those that have already made the switch to an electric car or are thinking of doing so, it remains the case that charging away from home costs less than refuelling a petrol or diesel car, but these figures show that the gap is narrowing.

“These figures very clearly show that it’s drivers who use public rapid and ultra-rapid chargers the most who are being hit the hardest.”

Quentin Willson, founder of the FairCharge campaign, said: “With electricity costs up by an average of 140% on last year and the Government’s divisive VAT levy of 20% on public charging, EV adoption is under threat.

“This government needs to act on charging costs, cap rises on public chargers, lower VAT and support charge point operators to build infrastructure.

“If they don’t, all those years of promises of a zero-emission future, clean air and energy independence will have come to nothing.”