Five tips for cheaper electric vehicle charging

Several utility companies offer tariffs incentivising customers to use electricity overnight, when demand is at its lowest. This also happens to be when most electric vehicles are parked (and often charging) so they can offer some significant savings for drivers.

For example, a Volkswagen ID.4 Life Edition would cost 2p per mile to charge at overnight rates on an Intelligent Octopus Go dual-rate tariff[1], compared to 6p at the latest Ofgem-capped flat rate[2]. That’s a £35 monthly saving for a car covering 10,000 miles per year.

Scheduling is simple, too. All new home chargepoints have to include options for pre-setting charging times[3] and most cars have this feature too. Cost savings aside, you’ll be lightening the load on the UK’s electrical grid during peak periods, and using electricity generated with the highest share of renewable sources and lowest CO2 emissions.

Accessing public charging has become much easier over the last decade. By November, all new rapid chargepoints and many slower units be required to offer payment via contactless card[4]. However, this can be the most expensive way to pay.

Taking BP Pulse as an example, registering for a free account offers a 2p/kWh discount on rapid charging compared to ad-hoc charging sessions, while the £7.85 monthly subscription saves a further 14p/kWh[5]. Based on that same Volkswagen ID.4 Life Edition, drivers could recoup the membership fee in a single 10-80% rapid charging session.

However, there’s no need to restrict yourself to a single network. Lots of EV drivers are using Bonnet, an independent app which offers a 10-15% discount across the UK’s biggest charging networks using a single account and membership fee[6].

Charging costs vary significantly between the different networks, and the cheapest place to plug in might not be that far off the beaten track. Using an aggregator site like Zap-Map can help pick out the lowest-priced networks close to your route, and doing so could slash a third off your charging costs[7].

Free charging has become a lot rarer, but it is still available. Zap-Map says 4% of the UK’s chargepoints (around 2,500 units) are free to use as of April 2024, though only a handful are rapid chargers[8]. The company’s live map even has a filter to help you find them.

Electricity is taxed differently to other fuels, which offers a useful perk for electric and plug-in hybrid drivers. Charging at work isn’t classed as a Benefit-in-Kind, so there are no tax implications if your employer lets you top up while you’re there – even if you’re not paying for the energy itself.

That exemption applies to privately-owned cars and extends to passengers too. If a friend gives you a lift, then they can also plug into your workplace chargepoints without being taxed for it[9]. Of course, it’s worth checking your employer is happy to let you do so.

Convenience can be costly. The UK has more than 64,000 chargepoints[10] and, as a rule, the fastest units are also the most expensive to use. With plenty of places to plug in, it’s almost always cheaper to find a slower chargepoint close to your destination than it is to factor in a dedicated rapid charging stop en route.

Using the latest data from Zap-Map, a 10-80% charge in our example car – the Volkswagen ID.4 Life Edition – would cost £31 on average using a slower ‘destination’ chargepoint, or £43 on a rapid chargepoint[11]. That’s a useful financial bonus for making use of time when it would otherwise be parked up doing nothing.

If you’re using a rapid charger, don’t aim for 100%. Charging speeds drop off significantly once the battery reaches 80%, the price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) doesn’t change. It might sound counter-intuitive, but it’s usually faster to unplug at 80% and plan another short charging stop. You’ll free up the chargepoint for someone else and avoid paying over the odds to charge slowly.

[1] Octopus Energy. (n.d.). Intelligent Octopus Go. [online] Available at: https://octopus.energy/smart/intelligent-octopus-go/ [Accessed 18 Jul. 2024].

[2] Ofgem. (2024). Changes to energy price cap between 1 July to 30 September 2024. [online] Available at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/news/changes-energy-price-cap-between-1-july-30-september-2024 [Accessed 18 Jul. 2024].

[3] Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. (2021). The Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021. [online] Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/1467/part/2/made [Accessed 18 Jul. 2024].

[4] UK Government. (2023). The public charge point regulations 2023: guidance. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-public-charge-point-regulations-2023-guidance/public-charge-point-regulations-2023-guidance [Accessed 18 Jul. 2024].

[5] BP Pulse. (n.d.). Public EV charging pricing. [online] Available at: https://www.bppulse.co.uk/public-ev-charging/pricing [Accessed 18 Jul. 2024].

[6] Bonnet. (n.d.). Pricing. [online] Available at: https://www.joinbonnet.com/pricing [Accessed 18 Jul. 2024].

[7] Zap-Map. (2024). Rapid Charging Prices: Top 10 EV Charging Network Pricing. [online] Available at: https://www.zap-map.com/rapid-charging-prices/ [Accessed 18 Jul. 2024].

[8] Zap-Map. (2024). Free EV charging points: Where are they all? [online] Available at: https://www.zap-map.com/free-ev-charging-points-where-are-they/ [Accessed 18 Jul. 2024].

[9] His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. (2024). EIM01035 - Employment income: charging facilities at or near the employee’s workplace. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim01035 [Accessed 18 Jul. 2024].

[10] Zap-Map. (2024). How many charging points? [online] Available at: https://www.zap-map.com/ev-stats/how-many-charging-points/ [Accessed 18 Jul. 2024].

[11] Zap-Map. (2024). Zap-Map Quarterly Price Index: Public Electric Car Charging Costs. [online]. Available at: https://www.zap-map.com/charging-price-index/ [Accessed 18 Jul. 2024].

This blog was originally published on leaseplan.com website. The views expressed may no longer be current and any reference to specific vehicles or products is for reference only. This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular vehicle, product or service - if you are unsure about the suitability of a product, you should consult with an expert.