Soaring energy prices drive up the cost of public electric vehicle (EV) charging.

New data from RAC, published today, shows that the cost to charge an EV on a pay-as-you-go basis at a publicly accessible ‘rapid’ charger has jumped by 42% – or 18.75p per kilowatt hour – since May.

The report suggests the cost has reached an average of 63.29p per kilowatt hour.

The increase, which is attributed to soaring wholesale gas and electricity costs, means that drivers need to spend on average £32.41 to rapid charge a family-sized EV with a 64kWh battery to 80%.

This is up £9.60 since May and £13.59 compared to a year ago, the authors of the report said.

The RAC has raised concerns over the relatively high cost of rapid charging on the public network risks putting off drivers from opting for EVs when they next change their vehicles.

Analysts point out that while the government’s recently-announced Energy Bill Relief scheme helps these drivers who charge their EVs at home, those who use public chargers still have to pay 20% in VAT for the electricity they buy, compared to home charging where it’s 5%.