Higher cost of electricity forces rise in price at chargepoints
THE cost of topping up an electric car using a public chargepoint is skyrocketing as energy bills soar.
Public chargepoint operator Osprey is one operator that has been transparent about the situation, announcing a new price across its network of £1/kWh.
The firm’s CEO, Ian Johnston, described the circumstances around the change as “extraordinary”.
“The Government has announced a £150 billion support scheme for homes and businesses,” he said. “However, as yet, we have no details on this scheme.
“Unlike for residential customers, to date there’s been no cap on the price that businesses pay for their electricity and, indeed, in recent weeks the price of electricity has risen to more than three times what it was this time last year.”
Johnston said he was sure he wouldn’t be “the first CEO of a business that is placed in this difficult position”.
He added: “Until we know more about the Government scheme, we have no choice but to increase our pricing. We want to reduce our prices if we can.”
Research from the RAC suggests the 34p-per-kWh Energy Price
Guarantee will mean that the cost of home charging a mid-sized electric car with a 64kWh battery will rise to £22.22 from 1 October.
This means an increase of £3.85 over current prices, although it represents a saving of £11.58 against the £33.80 figure that would have been introduced by Ofgem’s latest price cap rise without Government intervention.
The RAC’s EV spokesman, Simon Williams, said this was “good news” for EV drivers who home charge, but called on the Government to tackle the issue of public charging costs.
He said: “We now need the Government to urgently announce a specific support package for chargepoint operators, and indeed other businesses more widely, who have no option but to raise their prices to previously unthinkable levels to reflect soaring electricity costs.”
“Until we see the Government support, we have no choice but to increase our prices”