IT’S unclear what the impact of the government’s energy price package of help will have on electric vehicle public chargepoint operators and the prices they set drivers, according to the RAC.
The new Energy Price Guarantee means that, from the start of this month, domestic customers have their tariffs capped at a rate of 34p per kilowatt hour (kWh).
But voicing fears over the cost of recharging battery-powered cars at public stations, RAC EV spokesman Simon Williams said: “We remain concerned about the rising wholesale costs of energy that may force some to increase their prices in the coming months.
“There’s the potential for the Government’s net-zero transport ambitions to be derailed if higher electricity prices put drivers off from switching to an electric model.”
As a result the RAC has called on the Government to cut the 20% VAT rate on public chargepoints to match the 5% charged on domestic electricity.
The motoring group thinks the new domestic energy price cap will significantly cushion the impact of rising energy prices for drivers of EVs.
It calculates it will cost on average £22.22 to fully charge a typical 64kWh family electric SUV – £3.85 more than it did before, and a third less than it would have cost under the cap announced by Ofgem on 26 August (£33.80).
But the RAC says drivers will need to contact their energy providers to confirm the exact prices of their new tariffs.
