'We're being made to pay for grid access that we aren't using': Public EV charging provider warns of price hikes | Tech Radar

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'We're being made to pay for grid access that we aren't using': Public EV charging provider warns of price hikes

A perfect storm of price increases could make public charging more expensive

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An increase in energy prices could be felt on the public EV charging network

Network charges have dramatically increased over the past three years

A number of public EV charging network providers have warned that soaring energy costs could be passed on to EV owners, as the price per kilowatt hour to charge on the public network could spike, as companies look to stem losses.

According to a report by Sky News, there are warnings that charging companies may have no choice but to pass on costs to drivers, with Charge UK noting that companies are being faced with massive network charges that have increased by an average of 462% over the past three years.

Speaking to the news outlet, one Osprey Charging site in Wolverhampton said it had reported a 38,570% increase in its annual fixed charges since 2021, from £87 to £33,651 this year.

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"Our ultra-rapid charging hubs require very large grid connections to build for the peak demand we will see in the future, but we're having to pay in full for those large grid connections today," Ian Johnston, chief executive of Osprey Charging told Sky News.

According to Charge UK’s 2025 white paper, the public charging network has seen a sharp 38% average increase in prices since 2021.

The surge in costs is primarily attributed to energy expenses, which now account for two-thirds of chargepoint operator (CPO) costs, according to EV Infrastructure News.

In addition to this, the public network is made even more expensive by the UK government’s policy levies, which add around 6 pence per k Wh in a bid to balance the declining income from fuel duty.

Public charging also currently attracts 20% VAT, while home charging is taxed at 5%.

Many of the major public charging network operators have invested millions of pounds into infrastructure "at scale years ahead of demand”, according to Osprey’s Ian Johnston.

This means that most are reliant on the fact that the number of electric vehicles on the road will continue to increase at pace over the next decade, when a return on investment can start to happen.

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But it appears many are already getting nervous, as the UK government continues to move the goalposts on EV sales quotas, pushing its 100% zero emission goal back to 2035. Just 5% of all cars currently on the road are EVs.

This, coupled with the fact that standing charges and energy prices are increasing, means costs are now, predictably, being passed on to the consumer.

Tom Hurst, UK country director of Fastned, which owns a site in Palace Grounds retail park in South Lanarkshire, said that the company now faces standing charges of £41,000 a year — nearly four times the rent of the site, according to Sky News.

"Even though the station is powered by 100% renewable energy, these fixed costs, combined with higher VAT on public charging and rising wholesale energy prices, ultimately feed through to drivers.

"We absorb as much of these costs as possible to keep prices down for drivers, but policy action is needed,” he explained to Sky News.

The entire situation is a painful Catch-22, with more EV owners required to allow these large companies to turn a profit and promote competition – and hopefully bring the cost of public charging down – yet potential buyers are put off by a lack of fast and affordable charging infrastructure.

After all, the eye-watering price of rapid public charging disproportionately affects the one-third of UK households without off-street parking.

Despite the domestic and local-level EV charging initiatives that the UK government has announced for April of this year, it has to get a handle on the public charging network, reducing VAT, addressing the policy levies and reducing standing charges, if it stands a chance of convincing more buyers to go electric.

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Leon has been navigating a world where automotive and tech collide for almost 20 years, reporting on everything from in-car entertainment to robotised manufacturing plants. Currently, EVs are the focus of his attentions, but give it a few years and it will be electric vertical take-off and landing craft. Outside of work hours, he can be found tinkering with distinctly analogue motorcycles, because electric motors are no replacement for an old Honda inline four.

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