The cost of charging an electric vehicle using public rapid and ultra-rapid chargers remains stubbornly high, despite a fall in wholesale energy prices.

The RAC and ChargeUK are calling for reforms to help operators offer public charging that is as affordable as possible

While the cost of home charging has fallen, the price of using the UK’s very fastest chargers, typically relied on by drivers making long-distance journeys, has remained virtually the same since the start of the year, new data from RAC Charge Watch shows.

The average cost of a rapid (50-149kW) pay-as-you-go charge currently stands at 79.19p per kWh. That’s almost identical to the 79.55p figure at the start of 2024 but up 4% since a year ago and up 28% from two years ago. Drivers rapid-charging a family sized electric car from 10% to 80% will pay £41.18, adding a range of around 170 miles.

The fastest ultra-rapid chargers –150kW and above – cost a similar 77.67p per kWh, costing £40.39 for a 10-80% charge.

The research also shows drivers unable to charge at home are paying a significant premium over those that can. Off-peak home charging using a low-cost rate can cost just a seventh of the price of charging at an on-street lamppost or bollard charger (7p, compared to between 49p per kWh), and less than a tenth of the price of using a much more common rapid or ultra-rapid charger (7p, compared to 80p and 78p per kWh).

Even drivers who are on a standard domestic electricity tariff will pay no more than £15.88 to fully charge an electric vehicle from 0% to 100%. This is down from a high of around £22 during late 2022 and 2023 as a result of falling wholesale energy costs.

“Reducing the rate of VAT charged on electricity sold at EV chargers from the present 20% to match the 5% charged to domestic customers would be a huge help, but this wasn’t included in last month’s Budget.

“The best prospect of lower prices may come from Ofgem reviewing and, in turn, reducing the additional charges the charging networks have to pay. If these costs come down, drivers could at last expect cheaper public charging costs in the future.”

ChargeUK, which represents charge point operators, has also called for reforms to help charge point operators offer public charging that is as affordable as possible.

Chief executive officer Vicky Read said: “Our members are committed to making charging affordable as possible, because we know this is a key consideration in the decision to switch to EVs.

“But operators are faced with significant costs outside their control. VAT charged at 20% for public charging (versus just 5% at home), standing charges for rapid charging that have risen more than 10-fold in the past 18 months, wholesale electricity prices that remain among the highest in the EU28, and the fact that operators in the UK do not benefit from carbon credit schemes, unlike many of our European counterparts.

“We call on the Government and Ofgem to act now to ensure that affordability is not a hurdle in the transition to EVs.”

Adrian Fielden-Gray, co-founder of Be.EV, said the RAC correctly point out that electricity accounts for only a fraction of the total cost but it’s also worth noting that CPOs often enter fixed contracts.

“So we’re not paying 50p per kWh one month and then 9p per kWh the next. We enter fixed price contracts, which is a good thing for customers as gives price certainty rather than passing on volatility,” he stated.

“Additionally, the cost of the kit is very high. If a home user spends £1,000 on installing a home charger, that’s an upfront cost which they don’t equate to an extra, say, 20p/kWh on their normal tariff but that is what happens when fronting the upfront cost in public charging.

“I urge the public to look beyond the headlines and consider the challenges we face in enabling the UK’s green transport transition.

“CPOs are taking substantial financial risks to support EV adoption, committing £6bn to develop a charging network driver want at a time when EVs account for just 3% of vehicles on the road.

“Public EV charging prices reflect the realities of building a reliable, future-proof network – not profiteering.”