RAC said that since September, the average price of charging electric vehicles using public fast charging points has increased by more than 1/5 The automotive organization has started a new charging observation program to track charging prices across the UK and inform consumers of the cost of charging their electric vehicles.
According to the data, since September, the average price of charging in the form of pay as you go and non subscription has risen to 44.55 pence per kilowatt hour at public fast charging stations in the UK. This represents an increase of 21%, or 7.81 pence per kWh, which means that the average cost of 80% fast charging of 64 kwh batteries has increased by £ 4 since September.
Charge watch data also shows that the average cost of charging on a fast charger is 10p per mile, up from 8p per mile in September last year. However, despite the price increase, it is still less than half of the charging cost of gasoline powered vehicles. It now averages 19p per mile - up from 15p per mile in September. Diesel cars are even more expensive to refuel, costing almost 21p per mile.
In other words, it is more expensive to charge on the most powerful charger with an output power of 100 kW or more. At an average price of 50.97 pence per kilowatt hour, the cost of charging the 64 kilowatt hour battery to 80% is now 26.10 pounds. This is 48 pounds cheaper than charging a petrol car to the same level, but a typical petrol car can drive more miles with this money.
According to RAC, the reason for the price increase is the rising cost of electricity, which is driven by the rising price of natural gas. Since a considerable proportion of electricity in the UK is generated by natural gas power stations, the cost of natural gas in the country has doubled from September 2021 to the end of March 2022, and the electricity price has increased by 65% in the same period.
Simon Williams, RAC spokesman, said: "Just as the price paid by gasoline and diesel drivers at gas stations is affected by the fluctuation of world oil prices, electric vehicle drivers are also affected by the price of natural gas and electricity. Although electric vehicle drivers may not be immune from the soaring wholesale price of energy - the most obvious is natural gas, which in turn determines the cost of electricity - there is no doubt that charging electric vehicles is still non-existent compared with filling gasoline or diesel vehicles It always pays. Not surprisingly, our analysis shows that the fastest charging place is also the most expensive. The cost of using ultra fast charger is 14% higher than that of fast charger on average. For drivers who are in a hurry or on long journeys, it may be worthwhile to pay such a fee, because the fastest charger can almost completely recharge the battery of an electric vehicle in a few minutes. Nevertheless, the most affordable way to charge electric vehicles is not on the public charger, but at home, where the overnight tariff may be much lower than the corresponding tariff of the public charger. "
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