The RAC and electric vehicle campaign group FairCharge have called on the government to decouple the wholesale price of electricity from gas to help encourage more drivers to switch to EVs.
At present, the wholesale price of electricity in the UK – which directly impacts the price home customers and businesses are charged for it – is set by the last source of energy used to meet demand, which is usually gas.
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With the price of gas have risen sharply, that has pushed up the wholesale cost of electricity, with recent research by the Carbon Tracker Institute showing it had pushed up UK household bills by a combined £7.2 billion in the last two years.
That high cost of wholesale electricity has also added to the cost of recharging an electric car, both on a domestic charger or at a public location. RAC Charge Watch data shows that the cost of the fastest chargers in the UK have risen by 50 per cent since May 2022.
FairCharge, the EV campaign group established by Quentin Wilson, and the RAC want the government to decouple the wholesale price of electricity from gas, arguing that lower electricity costs would help encourage motorists to switch to EVs ahead of the government’s 2030 ban on the sale of new combustion engined cars.
The RAC’s Simon Williams said: “It’s very important that enthusiasm for electric vehicles isn’t dampened in the run-up to 2030 when the sale of new petrol and diesel cars comes to an end.
“The fact electricity has gone up in price quite dramatically due in the most part to the wholesale price of gas shooting up as a result of the war in Ukraine is a sign that action needs to be taken to change this for the benefit of households and businesses, and to guarantee the electric car revolution stays on track.”
The government conducted a Review of Electricity Market Arrangements last year, but despite closing for consultation last October that has not been published yet. The RAC has called on the government to do so “urgently”.
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