Rising Energy Costs for Electric Vehicle Owners

As you may have already heard, Ofgem announced that from April 2022 UK household energy bills are set to rise by around 54% - with an increase from 21p to 28p per unit, but what does this mean for EV drivers, and how can you save money on your EV energy bill? You might be thinking that the UK’s energy bill increase seems unreasonable, and wonder whether driving an EV might become too expensive. However, even though energy bills are rising and the costs of charging your car will become higher, the average costs of charging an electric car are still cheaper than refilling petrol and diesel vehicles, and the environmental benefits also factor into this. In this article, we will help to provide useful information that you need to know about the rising costs of energy, and how this increase might affect your electric car bill.

How much can I expect my EV energy bills to increase by?

This will depend on the energy that you use, when and where you charge your vehicle, and your EV’s battery size, as well as your energy provider. The estimated average costs of charging are expected to rise by around £200 per year for EV drivers. This figure is based on the full charge of a shorter range 40kWh battery from electric vehicles such as: the Nissan Leaf, BMW i3, or Fiat 500. This would work out at an increase of around £4 per week. For owners of models with larger batteries such as: the Tesla Model S, or Mercedes EQS, you might expect this to increase by around £8-£10 a week

How can I save money on my EV energy bills?

There are a few ways in which you can keep the costs of your EV electricity bills down, these include:

• Keeping your battery charge above 20% and below 80%, as EV batteries have slower charging rates between 0-20% and 80-100%. This will also help to prolong the life of your battery, as well as save you money.
• Charging your vehicle at home overnight, which is not only incredibly convenient, but this will help you save money as most companies provide cheaper energy at certain times throughout the night. Home charging is also a much cheaper alternative to charging your car at a public outlet. You can check with your energy provider for times when the cheapest rates are available.
• Make use of free charging while you are out shopping in retail areas and at supermarkets – where free EV charging is provided.
• If your workplace provides free or reasonable charging fees for your electric car, you could also charge your car while you are at work, or you could try car sharing to work as an alternative option.

Where can I compare EV charging prices?

We recommend that you shop around and check a comparison site to find the best energy deal, or EV tariff for you. You can compare charging prices and energy tariffs quickly and easily with the comparison tool available from Rightcharge – the UK’s first EV home charging, tariff, and installation comparison site. You can also look on the Money Saving Expert for more information on energy tariffs, and how to save money on your energy bills.

Are there any government incentives to help EV drivers with rising energy bills?

The UK government has pledged to help millions of households in the transition to higher energy bills with a financial boost. Households will receive up to £350 to help with living costs, as the government revealed that ‘all domestic electricity customers will get £200 off their energy bills from October,’ and in addition to this with a further ‘80% of households receiving a £150 Council Tax rebate from April.’ You can find out more details about the government’s energy incentive here. We hope that you found this article helpful, and if there are any topics you would like us to cover in the future, please send us a message and let us know. You might also be interested in reading our articles: how much does it cost to charge an electric car? and how to charge an electric car at home in 10 easy steps.