According to Bloomberg News, rapid charging of an electric vehicle is becoming the fifth more expensive in the past eight months due to the surging energy price, as indicated by new figures.
More on increased charging cost
RAC analysis has found that the average price of using rapid public charging in the United Kingdom escalated from 36.7p per kilowatt hour or kWh in September in the past year to 44.6p per kWh this month. This has added approximately £4 to the typical price of completing about 80% of rapid charging of an electric vehicle of family size with a 64kWh battery.
RAC attributed the increase to a 65% hike in the wholesale price of electricity, driven by the escalating gas cost.
The motoring services company said that charging an electric vehicle is still of an “excellent value” compared to refueling a diesel or a petrol car. The cost is around 10p per mile for using a rapid charger, which is up from 8p in comparison to last September.
Over the same time, the per-mile price of filing a petrol vehicle has increased from 15p to 19p, with the cost for diesel models surging from 16p to 21 p as per the analysis. Demand for electric vehicles has surged in recent months.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders expects that plug-in vehicles like pure electrics and plug-in hybrids will constitute more than a quarter of the new vehicle market by the end of the current year.
Bloomberg News reports that RAC spokesman Simon Williams revealed that just as the cost that drivers of diesel and petrol cars are paying to fill up at the pumps is regulated by oscillations in the world cost of oil, those in the electric car arena are affected by electricity and gas costs.
He also said that while drivers of electric vehicles are not immune to skyrocketing prices of wholesale energy, mainly gas, which in turn determines the electricity cost, no doubt charging an electric vehicle will still represent an excellent value for money compared to filling up a diesel or petrol car.
Bloomberg News reports that according to Mr. Williams, it is not fair that electric vehicle drivers who cannot charge at home due to the absence of off-street parking must shell out four times more tax for electricity when they use the public charge points.
VAT on domestic electricity is about 5%, while motorists that use on-street chargers pay 20%. Given the cost of living, it’s fair that everyone shell out the same VAT level, irrespective of where they buy the electricity from.
Quentin Willson, who is the founder of the FairCharge campaign, and former Top Gear presenter to remove barriers in the transition to electric cars, revealed that it is essential to keep a tab on charging the cost to ensure that charging EVs with electricity does not get very close to the price of using diesel in cars.
