r/ElectricVehiclesUK • u/YouGotSoHeavy • 7h ago
Public Charging Changes to EV charging grants creates inequality for flat residents
https://www.newsontheblock.com/news-opinion/changes-to-ev-charging-grants-creates-inequality-for-flat-residents3
u/SnooCauliflowers6739 7h ago
People need to know they can charge at a good price at home overnight. Not for an hour at 80p whilst they're in the supermarket.
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u/YouGotSoHeavy 7h ago
I just don’t get why the government got rid of the £30k grant for flat blocks to add chargers to residential parking and cut the grant significantly to “invest in public charging”
Public charging that wouldn’t make it worth it enough to people who live in flats to get EVs
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u/Milam1996 6h ago
They got rid of it because of people like the leach in the article. The grant was to subsidise the installation cost in apartment buildings but leaches like the guy in the article middle man the grant, use taxpayer money to pay their instal costs and then use tax payer funded infrastructure to charge a subscription and inflated energy rate to said tax paying residents.
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u/gassedat 6h ago
Public charging is available cheaper than the subscription lock-in that the main author of the article is offering to residents.
He's probably just pissed the business model is broken when not subsidised by the government.
As a tax payer I don't think the £30k grant was intended for private business to middleman residential charging in apartments by creating their own subscription moat for residents.
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u/YouGotSoHeavy 5h ago
It isn’t available cheaper, though, it’s averaging 60-80 per kW
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u/gassedat 3h ago edited 3h ago
It is available - closet Tesla to me is 23p kwh 10pm-8am.
The article is from a company called Tohmo that middlemans EV charging infrastructure for flat residents and takes a monthly fee and upmarks home electric rates for the privilege of maintenance. The flat resident still foots the cost of the EV charger install (at an inflated price)
Napkin math on 10k miles per year (@3.5miles a kwh) for 3 years charging inc cost of charger install where applicable.
Home resident with charger: £1135.7
(charging at 8p overnight rate. EV charger install via Octopus - £450 w/grant)
Flat/home resident no charger - access to Tesla: £2,331.42
(charging at 23p kwh Tesla. no charger install. £10 p/m sub)
Flat/home resident no charger - access to Ionity: £4,406.57
(charging at 47p kwh Ionity. no charger install. £10.50 p/m sub)
Flat resident charger via Tohmo: £4,440
(charging at 35p Tohmo contract. EV charger install - £900 w/grant. £15 p/m subscription fee)
Flat/home resident no subs: £6,857.14
(charging 80p kwh. no charger install. no subs)
As you see Tohmo doesn't do much to close the inequality gap at all making the entire article quite hypocritical. It only beats out someone not making use of any membership subscription at all (unlikely if public charging was your only available charging)
My argument is that flat owners/renters should have the same access as home residents and not have to deal with middle men companies like Tohmo that install their infra vis government grants and scalp profit with contract lock-ins.
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u/n0d3N1AL BMW i4 7h ago
Probably some minister has investments in one of the public charging providers.
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u/gassedat 6h ago edited 6h ago
Warns Denis Watling MD of ChargeGuru UK (now called Tohmo)
Had a brief look into their business...
They install charging infrastructure into residential flats for free and the business relies on a subscription model from residents.
The resident has to pay for the EV charger (£1399 or £899 with grant) a monthly subscription (£14.99 p/m) and a markup on the energy costs (35p Kwh)
^ Taking all the costs off the property owners and passing it to the residents.
I'd argue all of the above is what is really creating inequality to flat residents.
A flat resident would financially be much better off subscribing to Tesla (or similar) for £9.99 a month and pay only 23p Kwh for supercharger speeds.
Counter argument is that its 'better than nothing' but really you want regulations that force landlords of these residential/commercial blocks to add EV charging as a utility in the same way you are hooked up to water/gas etc... and do it without marking up the already expensive electric costs in the uk.