Decouple gas and electricity to make EV charging affordable, urge campaigners

Motoring groups suggest severing ties between gas and electricity prices would immediately reduce the cost of charging EVs in the UK

Campaigners have called on the government to decouple the electricity wholesale price from gas to cut electric vehicle (EV) charging costs.

EV campaign group FairCharge and the RAC suggest this move could slash EV charging costs “immediately”.

The current high wholesale electricity price continues to be set by the unprecedented global wholesale price of gas, which has impacted not only household and business electricity bills but also EV drivers who need to charge their vehicles regularly.

A recent report found that skyrocketing gas prices were responsible for almost 80% of the increase in the UK’s wholesale electricity prices.

The motoring groups call on the government to urgently publish the results of its review of Electricity Market Arrangements – which closed for consultation last October – so the decoupling process can begin.

FairCharge Founder and automotive journalist Quentin Willson said: “EVs charged at home are still considerably cheaper to run than combustion cars, but prices at many public charge points have increased significantly.

“Anyone using the public network will now have to pay more, but critically, the rise in costs will reduce EV take-up at a crucial time.”

A government spokesperson told ELN: “The Review of Electricity Market Arrangements will radically cut costs of electricity for consumers in the long term.

“We are consulting on a number of reform options, including making changes to the wholesale electricity market that would stop volatile gas prices setting the price of electricity produced by much cheaper renewables.”

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