ChargeUK: An open letter to the Chancellor

Vicky Read promotes growth and affordability of EV charging in the Budget

Vicky Read, chief executive of chargepoint operators organisation ChargeUK, has written an open letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves 

Dear Chancellor

On behalf of ChargeUK, the UK’s EV charging trade association, I urge you to take decisive action in the upcoming budget to promote the widespread rollout of public EV charging and keep charging affordable for all drivers.

The UK’s transition to zero-emission vehicles is a shared national priority — creating jobs and growth in the automotive, charging and wider e-mobility sectors, and helping households to save money while supporting net zero. Thanks to a commitment of £6bn of private investment and strong collaboration with government, we are on track: over 86,000 public charge points are now operational, with the network growing around 25% a year.

We welcome the leadership government has shown in supporting this growth — committing to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, launching the £600m Electric Car Grant, and announcing measures to make EV charging “easier, fairer and more accessible for everyone” in last week’s Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan. These decisive actions boost investor confidence and enable ordinary drivers to make the switch.

However, this joint progress is now at risk from three critical cost pressures: 

Business rates on charging bays

The Valuation Office Agency’s plan to apply business rates to charging bays for the first time from April 2026 would impose £100 million of new and unexpected annual costs on the sector. This would jeopardise private investment, risk a slowdown in deployment and site closures, particularly outside the South East, and push up driver prices. Our members estimate prices would need to rise 5 to 10.5p per kWh to compensate for business rates, costing drivers who rely on public charging an extra £315 per year and wiping out the financial benefit of band two of the government’s Electric Car Grant over five years.

VAT on public charging

Drivers who use public charging face a higher VAT rate than those who charge at home — 20% as opposed to 5%. This unfair disparity penalises the one in three households without access to private driveways — often lower-income and urban families.

Surging standing charges in the sector’s energy bills

The standing charge element of chargepoint operators’ energy bills has increased by up to 462% since 2021, with further increases anticipated next year. This has contributed to a 38% rise in average charging prices for drivers. Chargepoint operators are disproportionately hit by standing charges as they are now levied by capacity rather than usage — an unintended consequence of Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review, penalising the industry for building ahead of demand.

The Budget creates an opportunity to announce a pro-growth, pro-consumer package of measures that addresses these three cost burdens:

1. Rule out business rates on public charging bays
2. Lower VAT on public charging to bring it in line with home charging
3. Reduce standing charges in chargepoint operators’ energy bills.

Taken together, these actions would deliver a tangible win for drivers by ensuring charging remains widely available and affordable, and provide the stable and supportive fiscal environment needed to safeguard growth and investment in one of the UK’s key infrastructure sectors.

I would welcome the opportunity to discuss these issues further with you or your officials.??

Vicky Read is chief executive of ChargeUK