Survey reveals huge variations in public EV charging costs across England and Wales

New research commissioned by British Gas under a Freedom of Information request to over 400 councils has revealed huge variations in electric vehicle charging costs using public chargers. 

At its most extreme drivers can be charged up to £4 for every kilowatt hour. This means it would cost £240 to charge a typical EV from empty to full, compared to the same car costing under £4 to fully charge at home using a dedicated off-peak electric vehicle tariff. 

Out of all the regions in England and Wales, the West Midlands offers the lowest public charging rates, costing 20p per kWh on average and the South West is the most expensive at 63p per kWh, on average.

The research also shows that while drivers in the South have access to more on-street charging points than their Northern counterparts, they are having to pay more to use them. The average for the cheapest council owned chargers in the South is 32p per kWh compared with 25p per kWh in the North.

Adding a layer of complexity to this disparity there are 21 councils across England and Wales offering free EV charging. 

And although not included in the research, Scotland and Northern Ireland have government mandated, subsidised and maintained public EV charging infrastructure. The ChargePlace Scotland and ecarNI networks offer free or heavily discounted charging.

The analysis indicates prices can vary significantly within any one council. The most expensive public chargers are within Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council and Cotswold council where drivers face the eye-watering rate of £4.00 per kWh if they choose the most expensive chargers available.

British Gas says drivers are clearly confused with three in five saying there is a lack of information on both public and home charging costs. 

Furthermore, says British Gas, a huge number of motorists didn’t know that charging costs vary depending on location (60%), between different speed chargers (56%), between different public charging operators (55%) and between public vs home charging (53%), with more than half (51%) saying that clearer information on charging costs would help more people to switch.

Commenting on the research Lucy Simpson, Head of EV Enablement at British Gas says the research demonstrates the need for all UK councils to play their part in supporting the transition to electric vehicles. “Currently, we have 21 progressive councils that have decided to support local EV adoption, so we would expect a greater uptake of EVs to come through in these areas than in councils where it is expensive to charge. If charging doesn’t become more accessible in these areas, we could see a slower rate of adoption.

“While the government does offer certain financial incentives at the point of purchase, charging costs are still a barrier to electric vehicle adoption. With 29% of drivers citing expensive public charging as one of the main reasons holding them back, it’s unfair that those who don’t live in areas with either free or low-cost charging are being discriminated against based on their address. If this continues, we risk leaving a huge number of drivers behind in the transition to electric cars and this especially affects those without a driveway or off-street parking, who are forced to pay over the odds to charge.”