New research has revealed that there are 21 councils across England and Wales where it is free to charge an electric vehicle using council-owned public chargers.
The research, commissioned by British Gas under a Freedom of Information request to over 400 councils, shows that drivers in the South have access to 1,468 more on-street charging points than those in the North, but are being charged over a quarter (28%) more to top-up their electric cars using the cheapest council-owned chargers.
It costs drivers in the South (East Anglia, London, the South East and South West of England) 32p per kWh to recharge compared with just 25p per kWh for people in the North (Wales, the Midlands, the North East and North West of England and Yorkshire & The Humber), based on the average price of the cheapest council owned chargers in each area.
In addition, the research found that drivers are confused about the information available on EVs, with three in five (60%) saying they feel there is a lack of information on both public and home charging costs, with 60% saying they didn’t know that charging costs vary depending on location (60%).
Out of all the regions in England and Wales, the West Midlands is leading the way by making public charging more financially accessible to all, costing 20p per kWh to charge on average using the cheapest council-owned chargers available. The East Midlands is the next cheapest region to charge, at 22p per kWh, on average.
Scotland and Northern Ireland go further and are home to subsidised and maintained public EV charging infrastructure: the ChargePlace Scotland and ecarNI networks, offering free or heavily discounted charging.
Lucy Simpson, Head of EV Enablement at British Gas, said: “The latest figures released today demonstrate 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. If charging doesn’t become more accessible, we could see a slower rate of adoption.
“Whilst 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.
“This especially affects those without a driveway or off-street parking, who are forced to pay over the odds to charge. While at the moment, we are advising drivers to stick with their current energy providers due to the cost of wholesale energy, in the medium term home charging systems, such as the Hive EV charging, and electric vehicle specific tariffs will be the most cost-effective and convenient way to charge. What’s more this is invariably the most green method of charging as it makes use of overnight renewable energy.”
| Region | Cost to charge p/kWh using cheapest public chargers available |
| West Midlands | £0.20 |
| East Midlands | £0.22 |
| North West | £0.22 |
| Wales | £0.24 |
| South East | £0.25 |
| London | £0.26 |
| North East | £0.28 |
| Yorkshire & The Humber | £0.31 |
| East of England | £0.40 |
| South West | £0.63 |
