EV recharging costs rise by 53% due to soaring energy prices

Soaring energy costs are driving up the price of charging electric vehicles, with substantial increases announced in Ireland and the UK.

From May 5, ESB in Ireland will introduce price rises of up to 53% for businesses with Fleet charging plans. This will see tariffs increase from 21.9c/kWh to 33c/kWh for standard chargers (up to 22kW); from 25.5c/kWh to 39c/kWh for fast chargers (23kW-50kW); and from 31.4c/kWh to 42c/kWh for rapid and ultra-rapid chargers (51kW-150kW).

Tariffs are even higher for private drivers with a subscription to the ESB network, and higher still for pay-as-you-go charging.

Public charging was free in Ireland until October 2019, and ESB has not increased its prices since then, but said next month’s rises were unavoidable.

“Unfortunately, the wholesale cost of electricity in Ireland, as well as in Europe, has significantly soared to an unprecedented level over the past year,” said ESB. “This substantial increase in our operational costs means we are unable to continue to provide our service to you without having to increase the charging rates on our network.

Ubitricity raises prices in UK

In the UK, the Shell-owned Ubitricity EV charging network, which has more than 5,000 on-street chargers, has increased its prices this week by 33%, from 24p/kWh to 32p/kWh, and introduced a 35p connection fee per charging session.

Poppy Mills, ubitricity UK’s Commercial and Strategy Director, said: “The price increases we have seen in the energy market over the last year have meant that we have had to take the decision to increase our prices. Doing this means that we can ensure that we have the right people and processes in place to manage our network.”