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.

Public charging costs compared

Average cost to charge per kilowatt hour, by charger speed

Average cost to charge a 64kWh car from 10% to 80%, by charger speed

For any drivers wondering why public charging prices have not come down, when the cost to charge at home has dropped, the RAC says there are three reasons.

Firstly, the charging networks which build and operate rapid and ultra-rapid chargers have faced huge increases in some of the charges they pay for the supply of their electricity, including those covering the capacity they will need in the future.

Secondly, it is the same charging networks that are doing the vast majority of the ‘heavy lifting’ when it comes to the vital task of installing and running the country’s EV charging infrastructure. This means the prices they charge drivers need to be higher to help fund this.

Finally, unlike that which exists for domestic energy customers, there is no price cap applied to electricity bought by businesses including the charging networks. Ofgem’s domestic price cap was crucial in keeping down domestic energy bills after wholesale prices spiked following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

RAC spokesperson Rod Dennis said the actual cost of electricity used by drivers when charging up makes up a relatively small part of the total price they have to pay due to the high charges levied on the networks for grid upgrades and connections.

“Charging networks are spending enormous sums of money now to install the charging infrastructure that an increasing number of drivers will be using in the years to come, as more of us switch to EVs. Figures show that almost twice as many of the fastest chargers have so far been installed this year compared to last, and nearly four times as many compared to 2022.

“Of course, not all drivers depend on these fastest, high-powered chargers, but they are a crucial element of the charging mix. They are especially important for drivers who don’t have their own off-street parking space and so can’t benefit from the cheap rates to charge an EV at home.”

But pointing to the “huge gulf” in prices between those paid by EV drivers to use public chargers, and those that homeowners with EVs pay at home, the RAC has said it’s vital for public charging costs come down.

“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.”