By WhichEV
The UK’s electric vehicle transition is facing a critical challenge from “prohibitively high” energy costs, which have seen some bills for public charge point operators (CPOs) skyrocket by over 460% since 2021. That’s the stark warning from a new white paper released today by ChargeUK, the trade body representing the nation’s EV charging industry.
The report, titled ‘Delivering Affordable Charging for All’, reveals that a perfect storm of persistently high wholesale electricity prices, punitive network charging reforms, and a controversial ‘pavement tax’ on VAT has driven the average cost of public charging up by 38% in just four years.
Now, the industry is calling on the government to implement an urgent three-point plan to tackle these underlying costs, warning that without intervention, the affordability of charging could become a significant barrier to the UK meeting its 2030 phase-out target for new petrol and diesel cars.
