EV charging rates remain stable while gasoline soars, and live charging prices are added to gas station dashboards.

Electric vehicle (EV) charging prices on the public grid remained stable last month, while gasoline prices soared, new data shows.

The AA EV Charging Report found that EV power prices were frozen at all speeds in March, but On the other hand, prices rose by 0.63 pence per liter last month.

The cost of filling a tank hit a five-month high this month, with petrol now over 150p a litre.

The freeze on EV charging prices comes as one retailer, EG Group, has started adding EV charging costs to 50 service station pricing panels.

The AA found that 7kW home and public charging costs remained stable between February and March, costing 29p/kWh and 52p/kWh respectively in both months.

Similarly, fast charging (8-22kW) remained constant at 60p/kWh in March, as did fast charging (23-100kW) at 74p/kWh and ultra-fast charging (101+kW) at 77p/kWh.

EV drivers will start to see these prices displayed at more charging stations, as Forecourt Trader reported that EG Group will begin putting “per unit charging prices” on gas station poles so EV drivers Quickly calculate the cost of ultra-fast charging on the go.

Charging bonus: EV charging rates are stable, but gasoline and diesel prices are skyrocketing

EG Group has been installing live pricing at its electric vehicle charging stations since 2021, a move the AA welcomed with open arms.

The AA believes that adding charging costs to the totems to help advertise prices will make it easier to compare the cost of recharging an electric vehicle with the cost of recharging a car with petrol or diesel.

It will also highlight to drivers that there are more charging points than they realize.

Jack Cousens, head of road policy at the AA, said: “Pricing that can be seen from the road will create good competition and showing it on pricing boards is great news.”

“Not only will it show how cheap it is to use an electric vehicle, it will raise the profile of charging points in general, as drivers will notice that there are more of them than they think.”

Tesla Supercharger membership is now open to non-Tesla electric vehicle owners, who will now be able to benefit from the same cheaper kWh charging rate as Tesla owners. The cost of membership has also been reduced (for all EV owners who are already registered or registering from now on) to just £8.99 per month.

Other service station operators are reported to be weighing up adopting this transparent ‘marked price’ method, with Motor Fuel Group (MFG) telling Forecourt Trader: ‘The issue is continually under review and whether it would become mandatory in the Kingdom United, MFG would comply’.

However, adoption is a slow process as the regulatory framework is being incorporated little by little.

In November last year, the government introduced a new law to improve price transparency for electric vehicles, as part of its ‘Public Charging Points Regulation 2023’.

Charging operators must now display the cost of charging at the charging point itself or via a separate app or device. They must also offer contactless payment at new charging points.

Tesla has recently introduced this with its latest V4 Supercharger, as well as opening up Supercharger membership to non-Tesla EV drivers for the first time. The membership price has also been reduced from £10.99 a month to £8.99 a month.

Sainsbury’s new ultra-fast Smart Charge service also shows live pricing data.

Sainsbury’s launched its own electric car charging brand in January, becoming the first UK supermarket to introduce and operate its own electric vehicle charging network.

Stockpile: These Sainsbury’s stores already have Smart Charge devices available

The Government recently refused to reduce VAT on public charges from 20 per cent to 5 per cent – in line with household charging rates – despite industry-wide pressure.

The Government ruled out this measure – proposed by the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee – because doing so would “impose additional pressure on public finances to which VAT contributes significantly”.

In response, the AA said: “We are disappointed that the Government has decided to scrap VAT equalization between national and public EV charging at this stage.” However, the AA will campaign on behalf of all drivers ahead of the general election to make this ambition a reality.’

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