ESB raises prices for public charging of electric vehicles sharply

ESB ecars is increasing its fees for public charging of electric vehicles (EV) by up to 47 per cent from May 5th. Fees for kWh charging on standard, fast and high-power charging stations are increasing by between 30 and 47 per cent.

ESB said: "Unfortunately, the wholesale cost of electricity in Ireland, as well as in Europe, has soared to an unprecedented level over the past year. This substantial increase in our operational costs means we are unable to continue to provide our service to you without having to increase the charging rates on our network."

The company said it had maintained the same prices since it introduced pay for use in October 2019.

“This increase is unfortunately unavoidable and we will continue to offer you the most competitive rates available and work hard to keep the cost of charging as low as possible.”

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The price increases only affect motorists in the Republic. EV owners can charge for free at the ESB ecar charging stations in the North.

New rates

For ESB ecar subscribers, who receive a discount, the rates are also rising by between 33 and 53 per cent.

Pay-as-you-go use at standard chargers (up to 22kWh) for normal users is rising from 28.6 cent per kWh to 39 cent. The cost at fast chargers (up to 23-50kWh) rises from 30.5 cent to 45 cent, while the cost of high-power charging (51-150kWh) is to go up from 37 cent to 48 cent.

For subscribers, the new rates are 35 cent for standard chargers, 41 cent for fast chargers and 44 cent for high-power charging. The monthly fee for subscribers is also increasing from €4.60 to €4.99.

It means, for an EV with 50kWh of useable battery pack, the cost of a full charge on a fast charger rises by €7.25 to €22.50 for pay-as-you-go customers or €7.10 to €20.50 for ESB ecar subscribers.