Motorists who are on the highest unit rates for domestic electricity can end up paying well over three times more to charge an electric vehicle than those on better value rates and smart meter tariffs, according to research from the AA.
And while the cost of running an electric vehicle has more than doubled over the last 18 months as the price of energy has soared, powering an electric vehicle still remains substantially cheaper than driving a car fuelled by either petrol or diesel, the AA says.
Around 14,000 electric vehicles have been sold so far this year in Ireland, a jump of 83 per cent on the same time period in 2021, while the sales of petrol and diesel cars have fallen by 7.6 per cent and 20.5 per cent respectively. Yet but with many more motorists now driving electric cars, the potential for paying over the odds has also grown.
The most popular electric vehicle in Ireland so far this year has been the Volkswagen iD.4, which has a 77kWh battery that can cost more than €33 to fully charge or less than €10 depending on the domestic tariff a motorist has signed up to, with those who exploit smart meter tariffs able to make the largest savings.
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A motorist on Electric Ireland’s Pay As You Go tariff will pay just over 43 cent per kWh and would have to pay €33.32 to fully charge the ID.4. Someone with a smart meter using a night rate of 21.5 cent per KWh only pays €16.59, while charging a car on the Night Boost tariff sees the rate fall to 12.6 cent per kWh between the hours of 2am and 4am, making that the optimum time to charge an electric car.
“With the average motorist in Ireland driving about 17,000km per year, choosing the right time to charge and which tariff to use could save them up to €1,000 per year in charging costs alone,” said the AA’s Blake Boland, who pointed out a person that is canny about how and when they charge their car could get a year’s worth of driving for around €400.
A motorist driving a petrol or diesel car will spend between €1,900 and €2,300 over the next 12 months, with the average price of petrol currently standing at €1.84, while diesel costs around €1.94. “Even paying the highest rate of domestic electricity from October 1st, the same 17,000km is going to cost an EV driver €1,381,” Mr Blake said.
According to the AA spokesman there is “an information deficit as to how to get the best value out of electric vehicles”.
“You could be paying three or even four times the price to charge your car than your next door neighbour and that is a very high price to pay because you have not done your homework.”
He urged all electric vehicle users to ensure they are on the most competitively-priced unit rate for electricity and are taking advantage of whatever discounted night time rates are offered by smart meters. He said canny motorists with free energy one day a week as part of a smart meter package could effectively drive for nothing.
Although he also cautioned that free motoring might come at a cost in other areas. “Smart meters can definitely help but it really does depend on the individual. If you get a night time rate and get cheap electricity to charge your car or have a day every weekend that you can charge it for free it will be great but then you might find yourself paying a higher rate for washing your clothes or watching the television during the week so you really need to do your homework.’
