Electric-vehicle owners warned to brace for looming electricity price rises

Recharging an electric car from the energy grid is about to get more expensive.

From 1 July 2023, the price of electricity will rise by between 20 and 25 per cent for households and businesses in New South Wales, south-east Queensland, South Australia, and Victoria.

In recent weeks, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) confirmed approximately 600,000 customers in South Australia, NSW, and south-east Queensland will be affected by the increase in its ‘default offer’ – a benchmark price designed to cap price fluctuations.

Victoria’s Essential Services Commission (ECS) also announced a 25 per cent increase in its default offer – equating to an average household bill increase of $352 annually for Victorians.

Although a number of electric-car owners use solar or other renewable energy sources to boost their power options, the balance rely on the electricity grid, of which more than two-thirds is currently powered by burning coal.

For example, the cost to fully recharge a 60kWh-equipped Tesla Model 3 RWD – with a claimed maximum driving range of 491km – is estimated to jump from $24.11 to $29.87.

Despite the 25 per cent overnight price rise for electricity, $30 for a complete recharge is still about a third cheaper than the cost of petrol for an average car travelling an equivalent distance.

MORE: How much does it cost to charge an electric car in Australia?

As this article was published, Australia’s largest electric-vehicle charging providers were yet to announce price changes in response to the increased electricity charges.

However the electricity price shocks come just months after Evie, Ampol, and Chargefox all announced increases of between 11 and 15 per cent at selected electric-car recharging sites.

Depending on the bandwidth of the charger being used, prices typically vary from between 45 cents per kWh and 69 cents per kWh, though those figures could jump to 54 cents per kWh and 83 cents per kWh if a 20 per cent increase is applied.

There are still opportunities to recharge for free at the time of writing, with NRMA in NSW for now allowing the use of its facilities at no cost. Jolt and Tesla also offer free recharging in limited circumstances.

At the moment, Tesla owners typically pay between 58 and 70 cents per kWh depending on the location, with up to 250kW available in best-case scenarios.

Non-Tesla owners currently pay the most when using a Tesla Supercharger, with the US car-maker charging as much as 79 cents per kWh to use its facilities – capped at 120kW – though that price drops to 66 cents per kWh for those on a $9.99/month subscription.

If a 25 per cent increase were applied, non-Tesla owners could be paying as much as 99 cents per kWh to recharge at a Tesla site.

MORE: Top 10 most efficient electric vehicles

While 25 per cent is the average price increase for electricity in Victoria, some large providers such as Jemena and Powercor have increased costs to its domestic customers by as much as 27 per cent.

South Australia Power Networks – the sole electricity distributor in the state – will soon charge business customers almost 29 per cent more for the same service as before.

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