ESB to increase charges for use of public electric car charging network by up to 52%
The ESB is increasing charges for the use of its public electric vehicle charging points by up to 52%.
The changes will take place from December 20th.
It is the second time this year that the company has increased the charges.
In a notification sent to customers, the company said it understands that the price increase would be unwelcome news for customers, particularly at this time of the year.
“We want to reassure you that we have done our very best to maintain prices by absorbing the continued increases in the wholesale energy market over the past few months,” it said.
“Unfortunately, sustained higher wholesale energy costs throughout Europe means that we continue to experience a very substantial increase in the cost of wholesale electricity, which we must reluctantly pass onto our customers.”
Pay as You go customers will see the rate charged per kWh rise by 50% for standard and fast chargers and 48% for high power units.
While those customers who have a membership will see pay 52% to use standard chargers, 49% for a fast charger and 46% to access a high-power charging point.
The monthly membership fee remains unchanged at €4.79.
The unit rate for drivers on for fleet charging plans will also increase to 48.4 cent per kWh for standard, 55.7 cent for fast and 58.6 cent for high power.
It is the second such increase this year by the company. In April it announced that it was putting up the unit rates charged for use of the public points by up to 53%.
“We are determined to continue offering the best value we can for customers and will keep our prices under constant review in the coming months,” the company said.
The increase comes as growing numbers of people shift to electric motoring.
In the first 10 months of the year, 22% of all new cars licensed for the first time were electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles compared with 16% in the same period in 2021, according to the Central Statistics Office.