News story
Cutting electric vehicle charging costs
The government will cut prices at local, lower-powered electric vehicle chargers across Britain, saving drivers who rely on them around £150 a year.
Budget 2026 will build fiscal stability, give breathing space on the cost of living and the cost of doing business, and offer fresh hope for the future.
Giving breathing space
- The electric vehicle (EV) transition is accelerating – sales are up 36% on last year and over 190,000 drivers have saved thousands making the switch in the last year alone thanks to government funding. While more drivers than ever are going electric, the government knows that higher public charging costs risk slamming the brakes on that progress.
- At Budget 2025, the government announced an independent review into the cost of charging EVs on the public network, where prices have risen in recent years.
- Today, the government is cutting prices at local, lower-powered public chargers to give electric vehicle drivers who rely on them some breathing space - saving them around £150 per year on average.
- From spring 2027, the government will provide £100 million over two years to cut charging costs for motorists using lower-powered public charge points near their homes. It will cover chargers typically found on residential streets, where drivers can leave their vehicles to charge for several hours or overnight. These make up around a third of the current charging network.
- And we’re laying the groundwork for a better system in the future too, as the government will also be taking forward the recommendation from the review to launch a “tariff porting” taskforce led by industry experts to explore allowing drivers to use their cheaper domestic energy tariff at certain public chargers. The Department for Transport will set out more details in due course.
- The government is committed to the electric vehicle transition, which is key to meeting our net zero goals. It is driving growth and productivity, offering drivers savings of up to £1,750 per year compared to petrol/diesel, and delivering cleaner, quieter towns and cities across the UK. Volatile fuel costs show why we must move away from fossil fuels to cleaner, homegrown energy.
Facts and figures
- The government is investing £7.5 billion out to 2035 to support the EV transition, including £2 billion through the Electric Car Grant which has helped over 190,000 drivers save up to £3,750 off a new EV.
- There are over 124,000 public charge points in the UK, an increase of 7.4% year on year (Source How many EV charging points are there in the uk? Source of government official statistics.
- The government has already committed £600m to support this rollout further, including £480 million for the Local EV Infrastructure fund to support local authorities and charge point operators to install over 100,000 more chargers across England.
- The independent cost of public EV charging review has found that since 2021, average charging prices for lower powered chargers – such as those typically found on residential streets – and for higher-powered chargers – such as those often found in motorway service areas or electric forecourts – have risen by 69% and 94% respectively (real terms).
- This risks becoming a roadblock to going electric, especially for drivers without access to cheaper charging at home. With around a third of UK households lacking access to off-street parking or a driveway, the government is stepping in at the Budget to cut costs for motorists who rely on local, lower-powered public chargers.
- Moreover, the government has slashed red tape to make it cheaper, easier and quicker to install cross-pavement chargers As of 21 October, drivers no longer need planning permission to install cross-pavement chargers which run under pavements from people’s homes to their cars. This will save drivers up to £300 on installation and help those without access to off-street parking charge at home for as little as 2p per mile. Earlier in the year, in February, grants for home and workplace charging installations were extended and increased for flats, rented properties, on-street parking and businesses.