Price of electric vehicle charging to nearly double in Aberdeenshire

The price of charging an electric vehicle in Aberdeenshire will nearly double from next month, the council has confirmed.

Earlier this year, the Aberdeenshire Council’s infrastructure services committee agreed the changes, which will see an increase in the standard rate tariff from the current 24p per kW hour increase to 47p per kW hour.

A reduced rate of 27p per kW hour will be available for overnight charging between 8pm and 8am on 7kW and 22kW fast chargers.

As well as this, a new overstay charge of £30 will be levied on rapid chargers.

Aberdeenshire Council had maintained the previous prices of EV (electric vehicle) charging throughout most of 2022-23.

Increase moves network in line with commercial charges

However, the current charge only covers the cost of the energy used and with the cost of energy rising and a reduction in government subsidies, the council has agreed to increase the tariffs in order to future-proof the charging network.

Aberdeenshire Council said the increase in charges will also move the public network closer in line with the cost of commercial charging.

It is hoped that this will encourage more investors into the local market, therefore increasing the number of charging points throughout the region.

Head of Aberdeenshire Council’s environment and sustainability services, Ewan Wallace, said: “The council must ensure it gets good value for money, however the cost of providing EV charging continues to rise.

“That requires us to look at covering the whole cost of delivering the network – not just the cost of the energy used. We believe that our charging network still offers very good value for EV users.

“By introducing an overstay charge on our rapid chargers we also hope to discourage ‘charger hogging’ which is another common complaint of electric vehicle users across the country.

“These chargers are designed for rapid turnover so we hope by introducing an overstay penalty, this will encourage good behaviour and improve access for all EV users.”

Last week, it was announced that the price to use EV chargers in the Highlands would increase by 130%.