Updates to domestic energy tariffs make charging your EV for a week cheaper than a cup of coffee

An electric vehicle (EV) driver who charges at home on a dedicated EV tariff will pay £600 less per year than an EV driver on standard electricity tariffs, with their weekly commute working out cheaper than the price of a cup of coffee. 

That’s according to new analysis of the UK’s updated energy tariffs from Andersen, the designer charge point firm, which also found that EV drivers can save up to £1,300 a year by making the switch from an internal combustion engine vehicle to an EV.

The quarterly Andersen Index has been created to help consumers understand the different options available to them and support decisions around EV ownership. The latest Index highlights that there are now nine smart EV-specific tariffs, which offer an average rate of just 7.7p/kWh. In practical terms, this means an EV driver could travel 33 miles a day for five days a week at a cost of just £2.90 – a weekly commute for less than the average price of a cup of coffee.

The Index also compares the costs of refuelling a petrol car to the cost of recharging an EV over the average driving distance of 1,000 miles a month, showing that switching to a dedicated EV tariff delivers the biggest savings. 

As of 1 July, the standard rate electricity tariff was 22p/kWh – three times higher than current dedicated EV tariffs – meaning that some EV owners could be paying £51.42 a month, or £617.14 a year more on electricity than they need to. Petrol car drivers could now be paying £107.57 more on fuel each month, or £1,290.84 more a year, than an EV driver on a ‘smart’ EV tariff would pay for electricity.

David Martell, CEO of Andersen said, “It is often reported in the media that electric vehicles are not as cheap to run as petrol cars, but the latest Andersen Index proves that is nonsense. Our report shows that there are a host of cheap smart tariffs out there that make electric driving considerably cheaper than running an internal combustion engine vehicle.

“Switching energy providers or changing tariff with your existing provider doesn’t have to be a difficult process, and we’ve made it even easier by sharing an up-to-date breakdown of the cheapest tariffs designed specifically for EV drivers. By simply switching to a tariff designed for EVs, drivers could soon be saving over £100 a month.”