On-street charging costs fall by 12% in a boost to driveway-less EV owners
- Off-Peak and Peak slow rates fell in June, making public charging cheaper
- Off-peak slow charging saves 3.3p a mile compared to equivalent petrol costs
- News will benefit EV owners reliant on public charging
Slow charging peak rates fell by 12 per cent in just one month, according to the latest AA figures.
June’s AA EV Recharge Report found peak period slow on-street charging costs decreased 8p, while off-peak rates also declined by 3p.
This news will be welcomed by EV drivers who don’t have access to home charging and are reliant on using kerbside public chargers.
June’s AA EV Recharge Report found peak period slow on-street charging costs fell 8p in a month, while off-peak rates also fell by 3p, making EV p/per mile driving cheaper than filling up with petrol
In May slow off-peak charging (up to 8kW) cost 45p/kWh, whereas in June it cost just 42p/kWh.
Similarly for slow peak charging during May users were paying 67p/kWh, but in June they were paying only 59p/kWh.
The AA’s figures are based on pay-as-you-go options without connection fee, but if users have a subscription to a particular charging provider, they may be able to unlock even cheaper rates than this.
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The June Recharge Report highlighted savings slow charging EV drivers can make compared to petrol drivers by taking advantage of lower energy rates.
Slow charging, as the name suggests, is the lowest charging speed and takes the longest amount of time to charge an EV.
Slow charging points usually output around 3.6kW, but can range up to 8kW - ideal for overnight charging. This makes it easy for drivers to take advantage of off-peak energy rates as they’re likely to be plugging in overnight anyway.
Comparing a petrol Vauxhall Corsa with the equivalent electric e-Corsa, the AA worked out that a petrol driver was coughing up 12.85p per mile, whereas an EV owner using off-peak slow charging by their house was only paying 9.49p per mile
EV owners who park on the road outside their homes and charge at off-peak times from local slow chargers now typically save 3.3p a mile compared to equivalent petrol costs.
Comparing a petrol Vauxhall Corsa with an equivalent electric e-Corsa, the AA worked out that a petrol driver was coughing up 12.85p per mile, whereas an EV owner using off-peak slow charging by their house was only paying 9.49p per mile.
This is despite pump prices falling 3.40 pence per litre in the month of June.
Flat-rate slow charging cost EV drivers 11.53p per mile – again saving money charging versus filling up with fuel.
And EV owners with their own domestic supply can make further savings of at least 7.4p a mile on a flat-rate tariff.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at The AA, said; 'The fall in peak and off-peak slow charging prices is excellent news for those EV drivers without any off-street parking.'
Drops in public charging rates will help to level up price disadvantages faced to public charging EV owners, compared to people who have access to wallbox home chargers.
Some 30 per cent of EV owners are not able to access cheaper home charging.
But This is Money recently revealed ways you can save money on public charging this summer – from joining plunge pricing events to making sure you jump on summer sale public charging prices.
EV owners with their own domestic supply can be making further savings of at least 7.4p a mile on a flat-rate tariff
Following these findings, the AA is calling for boost to charging infrastructure from the new Labour Government.
Labour pledged in its pre-election manifesto to set binding targets on chargepoint installation, tasking regions and local bodies with delivering the rollout.
The previous Conservative Government set a target of 300,000 publicly available chargers by 2023, but Labour has not yet disclosed the number it is targeting.
Labour also promised it would release and redirect the existing £950 million Rapid Charging Fund announced in 2020.
'There is much for the new government to do on the road to decarbonisation, but they can tap into some early wins such as cutting VAT on public charging to reduce prices further, while providing more localised support to build chargers in areas where the infrastructure gap is widening', Cousins said.
