The UK government will spend £100 million over two years, starting in spring 2027, to cut prices at local, lower-powered public chargers. HM Treasury announced the measure on October 28, 2026, alongside an independent review of public charging costs. It says drivers who rely on these residential-street chargers should save around £150 a year on average.
What Was Announced
The support targets chargers “typically found on residential streets”, where drivers leave a car for several hours or overnight. According to the Treasury, these make up around a third of the current UK charging network. The government will also act on a recommendation from the review and set up a “tariff porting” taskforce of industry experts. Its job is to explore letting drivers use their cheaper home energy tariff at certain public chargers. The Department for Transport will publish details later.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Funding | £100 million over two years, from spring 2027 |
| Scope | Lower-powered public chargers near homes (about one third of the network) |
| Expected saving | Around £150 per year for drivers who rely on them |
| Price rise since 2021 (real terms) | +69% lower-powered, +94% higher-powered |
| Public charge points | Over 124,000, up 7.4% year on year |
Why Prices Became a Policy Issue
The review found that average prices at lower-powered chargers rose by 69% in real terms since 2021, and at higher-powered chargers by 94%. The government notes that around a third of UK households have no driveway or off-street parking, so many drivers cannot use a cheaper home tariff. It calls high public prices a risk to the switch to electric cars.
The package sits next to other recent steps. Since October 21, 2026, drivers no longer need planning permission to install cross-pavement chargers. The government also cites £7.5 billion of support for the EV transition to 2035 and £480 million for the Local EV Infrastructure fund, which aims to deliver more than 100,000 chargers across England.
What It Means
The measure confirms that slow and medium-power AC charging on residential streets is a core part of the UK network, not a stopgap. Councils and operators that run these sites need reliable, networked hardware with clear pricing and remote management, because public funding usually comes with reporting and uptime expectations. For kerbside and car park projects, our EV-AC03201T dual-connector AC station (two Type 2 connectors, OCPP 1.6J, RFID) and the EV-ACT3204E 22 kW wallbox (RFID and app, CE) support shared use. Operators planning a rollout can review our commercial charging solutions or contact us through the distributor program.
Related Reading
- EV Charging News: UK Removes Planning Permission for Cross-Pavement Chargers, Cutting Up to £300
- EV Charging News: England Proposes an “Ability to Charge” for Tenants and Leaseholders
- Will EV Charging Prices Come Down?
- EV Charging News: UK Public Chargers Reach 121,171 in Latest Government Statistics
Key Takeaways
- The UK will spend £100 million over two years from spring 2027 to cut prices at local, lower-powered public chargers.
- Drivers who rely on them should save around £150 a year, according to HM Treasury.
- An independent review found real-term price rises of 69% (lower-powered) and 94% (higher-powered) since 2021.
- A taskforce will explore letting drivers use home energy tariffs at some public chargers.
