Public EV charging cost review calls for tariff porting, price support and network charge reform
Philip New's independent review for DfT, DESNZ and the Treasury finds average public charging prices up 69% for AC and 94% for DC in real terms since 2021. Its five recommendations to government cover drivers without home charging, network charges at charging sites and fleet depots, and a possible role for porting in fleets and company cars.
The independent Cost of Public Electric Vehicle Charging Review was published on 28 October 2026 by the Department for Transport, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and HM Treasury. Philip New led it on behalf of the three departments. The government committed to the review at Budget 2025, and New conducted it between April and October 2026. It makes five recommendations to the UK Government, which it says should be taken forward as a coherent package rather than in isolation.
Based on CMA analysis of Zapmap data and the Zapmap Price Index, the review reports that average prices for lower-powered AC public charging have risen by 69% in real terms since 2021, and by 94% for higher-powered DC charging. It estimates that charge point operators (CPOs) face standing charges 83–283% higher than in 2021, an estimate that uses site power ratings as a proxy for capacity. Average energy-based utilisation in 2025 was 3–4% on rapid and ultra-rapid DC networks and 3–7% on standard AC networks. The review found many operators under financial strain, with very few achieving positive EBITDA, and judged it unlikely that any are net profitable.
Its cost-per-mile analysis puts a typical driver who can charge at home at 8–12p per mile, a figure that includes home charger installation and some public charging. A driver reliant on public charging at a mix of powers pays 17–20p per mile at current prices, and 24p per mile on rapid charging alone, against 22p per mile for petrol at September 2026 prices. The review warns that, without intervention, consumer charging prices are likely to rise over the medium term from 2027 if EV adoption slows or capacity expands in an undisciplined way. THRIVE tracks the gap between public and home charging costs.
The five recommendations
The review describes its first recommendation as the key one: developing and piloting local tariff porting in Great Britain through a government-established taskforce. Drivers without home charging could use standard and standard-plus AC public chargers near their homes and pay for the electricity through their domestic energy tariff, plus an access fee. The review gives £200 a year as an illustrative fee, comparable to £1,000 for a home charger amortised over five years. Work by an Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund consortium and international pilots, including in Germany, suggests porting could have applications for fleets and company cars, according to the review.
Second, it recommends targeted, time-limited financial support to cut prices at lower-powered on-street and residential car park chargers. Funding would depend on clear pass-through to consumers, with controls proposed to stop CPOs raising underlying tariffs before applying the discount.
Third, it calls for the tension between EV policy and Great Britain's network charging and policy levy regimes to be resolved. The review says Ofgem's Targeted Charging Review, implemented in 2022, turned residual network charges into a fixed charge based on connection capacity, making early infrastructure investment harder for CPOs and fleet depots. It recommends that CPOs pay network charges no higher than they would have before the Targeted Charging Review. The decisions rest with Ofgem, and the review points to related workstreams resolving over two to four years, with interim action to be explored.
Fourth, it proposes a standalone market-based certificate scheme for renewable electricity used to charge EVs on the public network, and possibly at fleet depots. Early analysis suggests this could cut CPO costs by around 3.6–10.2p/kWh. The review estimates the cost passed to petrol and diesel drivers at under 0.4p per litre in 2027, though it expects this to rise as the grid gets cleaner and suggests a cap, for example 1p per litre. Both figures are illustrative estimates.
Fifth, it recommends extending grant support for battery energy storage at charging sites beyond the Strategic Road Network, building on the existing £10 million SRN Innovation Fund in England, alongside guidance. The support would be aimed predominantly at DC hub-style charging, and CPOs would have to show how storage supports lower prices.
Taken together, the review says, the porting, price support and certificate measures could be designed to cut local public charging costs by around 15–20p/kWh and public charging costs more generally by up to 10p/kWh. Among supporting actions, it recommends government consider a central charger data platform and stronger price transparency, such as requiring CPOs to display the cost of a full charge alongside the p/kWh rate. Tax policy was outside its scope; VAT on public charging remains at the full 20% rate.
In his foreword, New writes: "An EV transition that works only for people with driveways is not a fair or durable transition."
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