The real cost to charge an electric van
What it actually costs to charge an electric van at home - from DESNZ's average domestic electricity price - set against HMRC's advisory electric rate.
Updated annually · latest figures for 2025
Charging an electric van at home costs about 9p per mile - 25.75p/kWh (DESNZ 2025 average) at 0.35 kWh/mile - 2p above HMRC's 7p advisory electric rate (THRIVE, from DESNZ + HMRC).
Cite this
THRIVE real cost to charge, from DESNZ Table 2.2.4 and HMRC AER. thrivefleet.co.uk/data/cost-to-charge (accessed 27 October 2026).
Cost per mile
Real home cost vs advisory rates
| Category | Value (p) |
|---|---|
| Real home cost | 9p |
| HMRC home rate | 7p |
| HMRC public rate | 15p |
Electricity unit price
DESNZ UK average, pence per kWh
| Category | Value (p) |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 11.3p |
| 2011 | 12.02p |
| 2012 | 12.66p |
| 2013 | 13.49p |
| 2014 | 14.04p |
| 2015 | 13.83p |
| 2016 | 13.59p |
| 2017 | 14.4p |
| 2018 | 15.45p |
| 2019 | 16.97p |
| 2020 | 17.17p |
| 2021 | 18.9p |
| 2022 | 28.29p |
| 2023 | 30.38p |
| 2024 | 25.83p |
| 2025 | 25.75p |
HMRC's advisory electric rate is what an employer can reimburse per mile tax-free - but it is a flat national figure, updated in steps. This page shows the number underneath it: what a mile of home charging actually costs, from DESNZ's average domestic electricity price. When the real cost sits above the advisory rate, drivers reimbursed at the advisory rate are out of pocket.
It is the evidence base for whether the advisory rate is keeping pace with electricity prices - and it feeds the home-charging figure in the charging cost gap and the Fleet Cost Index.
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- Electricity price: the DESNZ annual domestic electricity unit price (Table 2.2.4, UK overall average variable unit price), 25.75p/kWh for 2025.
- Home cost per mile: unit price × 0.35 kWh/mile - a documented representative electric-van efficiency, read live from the rates API.
- Comparison: the HMRC advisory electric rate (home 7p, public 15p per mile).
DESNZ figures are annual (calendar year) and update quarterly, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. No commercial-tariff data is used.
Figures checked against GOV.UK on 27 October 2026.
Free JSON API - no key, open CORS, cache-friendly:
curl https://www.thrivefleet.co.uk/api/v1/cost-to-charge{ "cost_to_charge": { "price_p_per_kwh": …, "home_charge_ppm": …, "aer_home_ppm": … } }Free to use. Please credit THRIVE and link to the page a figure came from: a request, never a condition of use. See the data terms and the API guide.
How much does it cost to charge an electric van at home?
On DESNZ's 2025 average domestic electricity price of 25.75p/kWh, about 9p per mile for a typical electric van - 2p more than HMRC's 7p advisory rate.
EV charging for fleets: the guide