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The cost of charging an electric vehicle (EV) on the public charging network increased by 11% in 2023, as operators hiked prices and drivers opted for more expensive charge points.
New figures, derived from Zapmap’s Price Index, also show that the premium to charge on the high powered rapid/ultra-rapid network remains at around 47%.
The price index takes more than a million recorded charging sessions per month and calculates the weighted average cost that an EV driver pays to charge on the public network. The Index takes into account the increases in price by individual charge point operators, as well as where the largest volume of energy consumption occurs.
Zapmap’s figures are for the rapid/ultra rapid network as this is where the majority of charging takes place. It said there are two key factors behind the increase.
Table 1: How the price for public charging changed in 2023
| Power Rating | Weighted average p/kWh paid – December 2022 | Weighted average p/kWh paid – December 2023 | % change |
| Slow/Fast | 49 | 55 | 12% |
| Rapid/Ultra-Rapid | 73 | 81 | 11% |
The first is the fact that some charge point operators significantly increased their costs in order to bring them in line with the rest of the market.
“While there was previously quite a difference in pricing levels, the top six rapid/ultra rapid charging networks have now all settled on a price point of 79p per kWh, with InstaVolt on 85p per kWh,” Zapmap said.
The second reason behind the increase is due to the fact more drivers are opting for the faster, but generally more expensive ultra-rapid (100kW+) charge points.
“Most significantly, the amount of energy transferred each month by ultra-rapid charge points overtook that of rapid charge points, in June 2023,” it added.
To further illustrate this point, Zapmap highlighted how in December 2022 rapid charge points delivered 49% of all kWh delivered in the month, while ultra-rapid charge points delivered 29% of the total. In contrast, December 2023 saw rapid chargers deliver just 32% of all kWh in the month, with ultra-rapid chargers delivering 45% of the total.
Zapmap estimates that over the course of the year, the energy transferred by ultra-rapid charge points increased by nearly 150%, while the number of ultra-rapid devices increased by 112%.
Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder & chief operating officer at Zapmap, said: “This year, with the continued uncertainty in wholesale energy prices and other cost pressures, don’t expect prices on the public charging network to come down in the near future.
“However, looking to the future, there are reasons to be positive. There is continued pressure on the government to equalise the VAT levels between domestic and public charging at 5%. FairCharge is campaigning hard on this and the recent recommendations from the House of Lords also state that the government should act on this.
“In addition, the industry is working both to look at the standing charges and to see if they can get electricity within the government’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation. In the here and now, most electric car drivers continue to experience lower costs than driving an equivalent petrol or diesel car.”
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