Electric vehicle charging company Evie says it will increase prices for its 50kW charging stations from 40c per kWh to 45c per kWh, in what it says is its first price hike in nearly three years.
Evie says the 60c per kWh price for its ultra-fast 350kW charging stations would not change.
In a statement the company said “This is the first price increase we have made since 2020 and is reflective of the increased cost of energy.”
The 12.5% price increase comes just a day after Ampol increased it’s fast-charging prices by 15% to $0.69 per kWh (up to a charging speed of 150kW) and just a week after Tesla opened up some of its regional NSW charging stations to non-Teslas.
Pricing of the Tesla chargers to non-Tesla drivers is 79 c/kWh, which can be reduced to 66 c/kWh with a Tesla membership plan that is set at $9.99 a month.
With Chargefox’s 50kWh stations still costing 30c per kWh (ultra-rapid 350kW is 40-60c per kWh), it will be interesting to see if other charging networks also increase their prices in response to Ampol and Evie.
In theory, as more cheap renewables come online and as charging networks increase their bargaining power and can negotiate better wholesale prices, the cost per kWh should be heading down not up.
Evie which currently has over 100 charging stations across Australia says that it aims to increase its network in 2023.
Daniel Bleakley is a clean technology researcher and advocate with a background in engineering and business. He has a strong interest in electric vehicles, renewable energy, manufacturing and public policy.