Three things government can do to reduce public EV charging costs

As a CPO we know more than anyone the impact that high wholesale energy, grid charges and infrastructure costs have had on consumer prices over the past few years.

We've blogged about why public charging costs more than home charging (VAT, infrastructure, energy costs), and how building an ultra-rapid charging network ahead of demand means paying elevated (and rising) capacity charges disproportionate to the usage we see today.

But now, there's an official report detailing this on an industry-wide basis.
ChargeUK's new White Paper, 'Delivering Affordable Charging for All', draws on independent analysis by Cornwall Insights and lays bare the huge increases in energy costs CPOs have been through.

Consumer prices have increased 38% since 2021, whilst:

• The ultra-rapid segment of the market has seen a 462% rise in standing charges
• Wholesale electricity prices remain 66% higher than pre-Energy Crisis levels
• Government policy levies, applied to every unit of electricity consumed, add approx 6p/kWh and are set to increase by over 10% by 2030
  
  ChargeUK's paper sets out a three-point plan for policymakers; Tackle operators' prohibitively high energy costs, boost the charging business case and eliminate the VAT penalty on public charging.

We join other CPOs in calling in particular to accelerate the relief from the highest standing and capacity charges via the live DCUSA change processes (420 and 454), as well as for policy levy exemptions for this young, strategic growth sector that is actively enabling the clean energy transition.

Read the full article here: Action on high energy costs needed to keep EV transition on track