The cost of charging on the UK’s public network increased 11% in 2023, new Zapmap figures reveal.

The data – derived from the Zapmap Price Index – also reveals that the premium to charge on the high-powered rapid/ultra-rapid network remains at around 47%.

However, even with the cost increases, the figures from the Zapmap Price Index show that, as of January 2024, electric car drivers are still in a better position in the majority of cases than drivers of petrol and diesel cars who have to fill up at the pumps.

Zapmap said the rise in costs on the rapid/ultra-rapid network – where the majority of charging takes place – was driven by a number of key factors.

The first is consolidation. Although many operators held their prices last year, others significantly increased theirs to bring them in line with the rest of the market. While there was previously quite a difference in pricing levels, the top six rapid/ultra-rapid charging networks have now all settled on a price point of 79p per kWh, with InstaVolt on 85p per kWh.

The second factor is the changing mix of charging, with more drivers opting for the faster, but generally more expensive ultra-rapid (100kW+) charge points.

Most significantly, the amount of energy transferred each month by ultra-rapid charge points overtook that of rapid charge points, in June 2023.

As an example, in December 2023 rapid chargers delivered just 32% of all kWh in the month, with ultra-rapid chargers delivering 45% of the total – a big change from the figures of 49% and 29% respectively in December 2022.

The figures also uncover drivers’ shifting usage of charging options. Although ultra-rapid options are generally more expensive, electric car drivers increasingly used these high-powered devices as their numbers grew in 2023. According to Zapmap, the estimated energy transferred by ultra-rapid charge points increased by nearly 150% over the course of the year, while the number of ultra-rapid devices increased by 112% in the same period.

Zapmap added that the consolidation of prices at the new higher level in public charging should be placed in the context of uncertainty in wholesale energy prices – there are no price caps for business – and an increase in the costs of building and operating charge points.

One major factor has been a change to the grid code that means operators are having to absorb standing charges that are, in some cases, 10 times what they were two years ago. In parallel, charge point operators are facing increasing pressure to deliver a good return on investment.

The figures were taken from the Zapmap Price Index, which takes more than a million recorded charging sessions per month and calculates the weighted average cost that an EV driver pays to charge on the public network. The Index takes into account the increases in price by individual charge point operators, as well as where the largest volume of energy consumption occurs.

Zapmap has warned drivers not to expect prices on the public charging network to come down in the near future, due to the continued uncertainty in wholesale energy prices and other cost pressures.

But Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder and COO, said there were still reasons to be positive.

“There is continued pressure on the Government to equalise the VAT levels between domestic and public charging at 5%. FairCharge is campaigning hard on this and the recent recommendations from the House of Lords also state that the Government should act on this.

“In addition, the industry is working both to look at the standing charges and to see if they can get electricity within the Government’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation.”

Zapmap also highlighted that most electric car drivers continue to experience lower costs than driving an equivalent petrol or diesel car – and urged drivers to use tools such as the Zapmap Price Index to seek out the cheapest charging options and keep an eye on costs.

Other findings from the latest Zapmap research include:

• Many EV drivers charge at home for most of their energy needs, with the energy price cap currently sitting at around 28p/kWh, and might also have the option to install solar panels, or take advantage of a lower price off-peak tariff and so reduce the cost of charging their EV further.
• The typical cost per mile in January for a couple who primarily charge their electric car at home (80% of the time) was seven pence per mile. This contrasted with 15 pence per mile for the driver of a typical vehicle with an internal combustion engine.
• The typical cost per mile for a couple who do half their charging at home, 25% on public rapid/ultra-rapid charge points and 25% on slow/fast chargers was 11 pence per mile last month. However, a driver doing 80% of their charging on the public network would see their typical costs sitting at around 18 pence per mile.
• Drivers remain concerned about the price of public charging, with 62% of respondents to Zapmap’s annual charging survey highlighting the high cost of charging on the public network as a problem – up from 41% in 2022. Additionally, only 14% of respondents said they were willing to pay more than 80p per kWh for high-powered charging.
• However, the same survey showed that electric car drivers were less likely to actively search for a cheaper refuelling alternative than when driving an internal combustion engine (ICE) car.