BP Pulse price increases

[MikeZ]

I've had an e-mail from BP Pulse saying they are increasing their prices from 10th June, as per the attached.
I've been using their 50kW rapid charger for a month, thankfully my wall charger will be fitted this week.
With their £7.85 monthly subscription I've only been paying 15p/kW, roughly normal domestic prices so it has been invaluable this month. Without a subscription it would have been 30p/kW.
With the price increase and my own wall charger I don't think it's worth continuing with the monthly subscription.
For my infrequent long distance trips I'll probably use them, they still seem to be cheaper than the motorway rapid chargers and Instavolt etc.
It does seem a rather steep price increase tho...

 

[Cocijo]

Yes. I had the same notification. You need to use it a fair bit to justify the monthly fee.

 

[Kithmo]

Have they dropped the £1.20 minimum spend ?
I looked on the website but it still has the old prices on there.

 

[Lovemyev]

Yes. I had the same notification. You need to use it a fair bit to justify the monthly fee.

Thanks for the “Heads Up” folks.
I have just checked my e.mails and I have also been notified about the increase in charging cost rates.
The subscription has not increased as best as I can tell.
If you are a big user of the rapid chargers then you are going to feel it a bit in the pocket I guess.
Not the most expensive rates though !.
Mind you, If you are lucky enough to have a car that will charge on the more expensive super speed rapids, then I guess you don’t mind paying for the extra speed that the more expensive beasts can pump out !.
Electricity prices have increased a lot just lately, so it had to happen really.
It’s not like they can store the energy in large storage batteries or harness from the sun like in the new super charging locations that we are seeing coming on line now.

 

[Frank]

Hi All,

The price increase is due to a vat increase just recently imposed by the Government. Charging companies used to pay only 3% VAT on the electricity they dished out. They now have to pay 20% VAT and they have passed on this increase to the consumer.

I suppose the Government have to claw back lost revenue from road tax and fuel duty somehow!!!

 

[Prof1967]

Hi All,

The price increase is due to a vat increase just recently imposed by the Government. Charging companies used to pay only 3% VAT on the electricity they dished out. They now have to pay 20% VAT and they have passed on this increase to the consumer.

I suppose the Government have to claw back lost revenue from road tax and fuel duty somehow!!!

I have checked my BP Pulse statements from last month and can confirm they have always charged the full 20 per cent VAT. Instavolt had only been charging 5 per cent which is the same as for domestic energy but have been told by HMRC they have to charge at the higher rate.

BP's increase is just to cover costs and nothing to do with VAT.

 

[Valiant5]

I and I expect others have now received a second email correcting the original one, so the registered rate is now a further 2p higher, at 29p and the contactless rate also 2p higher still, at 35p.

I know they need to be investing, but these charges are starting to be on the higher side

 

[Fluffykins]

There's an alternative fuelling regime that is far more modern than picking one supplier out of many, opening an account and paying a subscription.

All you do is pitch up at any of the forecourts, replenish your car, pay, and on your way.

No weird pricing, no subscription, no special ID card, no need for an app - no need even for a mobile phone.

I can see these internal combustion engine cars catching on really quickly, with their simple, modern, convenient fuelling. They'll leave EVs in the dust.

 

[Valiant5]

I've been driving EVs for more than four years now and can't help feeling the charging situation is getting no better, in fact it's possibly worse. Where I live, Chesterfield, more than a dozen fast and rapid chargers have been installed over the past two or three years, but almost half of them are either out of order or work intermittently. I've reported the faults to CYC who operate them, but months later they're still not working. How can we expect people to switch to EVs when the charging infrastructure is so poor?

Most of us will know how bad the motorway chargers are, too. Coming out of London on arguably the country's busiest motorway, the M1, the chargers at the very first services, London Gateway, have been broken for months. It's totally unacceptable.

Returning to the pulse prices, anything much over 30p and it's the equivalent of petrol/diesel pricing, so no incentive to make the switch. I'm fortunate to have a home charger and 5p a kWh for five hours a night with Good Energy, the greenest tariff overall, which is more important to me than just the cheapest.

 

[Lovemyev]

I've been driving EVs for more than four years now and can't help feeling the charging situation is getting no better, in fact it's possibly worse. Where I live, Chesterfield, more than a dozen fast and rapid chargers have been installed over the past two or three years, but almost half of them are either out of order or work intermittently. I've reported the faults to CYC who operate them, but months later they're still not working. How can we expect people to switch to EVs when the charging infrastructure is so poor?

Most of us will know how bad the motorway chargers are, too. Coming out of London on arguably the country's busiest motorway, the M1, the chargers at the very first services, London Gateway, have been broken for months. It's totally unacceptable.

Returning to the pulse prices, anything much over 30p and it's the equivalent of petrol/diesel pricing, so no incentive to make the switch. I'm fortunate to have a home charger and 5p a kWh for five hours a night with Good Energy, the greenest tariff overall, which is more important to me than just the cheapest.

I totally agree !.
Charging from home at least offers some protection if the cost of charging our cars, for now at least !.

 

[Prof1967]

At 42p per kwh you are getting very close to the cost of diesel to do the same mileage. I've based this on a diesel averaging 50 mpg which is roughly what we get in my wifes 208.

 

[Dt99idr]

At 42p per kwh you are getting very close to the cost of diesel to do the same mileage. I've based this on a diesel averaging 50 mpg which is roughly what we get in my wifes 208.

Probably can go a bit higher if you're comparing like with like I.e. motorway services diesel prices to motorway charger prices. I'm surprised to hear that motorway chargers are so poor. I would expect these to be the cash cows. I almost won't care how much it costs to charge on the motorway... same as petrol, I'm only filling up because I have to...

 

[JohnB]

I easily average 70 mpg in my diesel, so 43p Kwh is getting very close to parity. Luckily EV drivers get the chance of free electrons at some destinations, and at least substantially cheaper ones when home charging. It wouldn't work out too well for someone that needs to rapid charge often though would it.

 

[MikeZ]

It seems Instavolt have had to increase their prices from 35p to 40p

Charging - Electric Vehicle News and Trends | InsideEVs

Get breaking news, in-depth articles and press releases covering Charging in the EV industry.

insideevs.com

 

[Lovemyev]

It seems Instavolt have had to increase their prices from 35p to 40p

Charging - Electric Vehicle News and Trends | InsideEVs

Get breaking news, in-depth articles and press releases covering Charging in the EV industry.

insideevs.com

They follow like sheep !.

 

[Adee]

I think it's been on the cards that the government will want to get some revenue from electric cars (as transport slowly becomes displaced towards electric). It seems that their first step is to charge 20% VAT. But they can't do this on domestic electricity (yet!). Which is why home charging is by far the best option if you want to take full advantage of cheaper running costs. This was a big factor when I bought my MG5, and I wouldn't have taken the plunge otherwise. I don't do a lot of long journeys (>100miles) so I have managed easily so far by just using the "granny" charger on economy 7. If I was disciplined enough there would be no difficulty covering all my mileage (12k/yr) on the Economy 7 rate which is about 10p per unit. I'll probably look for a cheaper tariff when it's up for renewal.

I do appreciate though that not everyone has the luxury of a convenient mains supply!

Expect further government "intervention" in the years to come!

 

[Prof1967]

Its always supposed to have been 20 per cent vat on electricity from charge points and other companies such as BP have always charged 20 per cent. Instavolt had argued that it should only be 5 per cent and the announcement this week was HMRC finally putting their foot down.

 

[Lovemyev]

HMRC finally putting their foot down.

Blood suckers .
They would tax fresh air if they could get away with it !.
Shut up you fool - somebody from the HMRC might be listening .
Joking apart folks, can I say that I really take my hat off to anybody, who is willing to take the plunge on an EV that does not have the luxury of being able to pull a charge from there home address - big respect to you all my friends !.
It is a luxury that some of us maybe accused of taking for granted.
I am one of those people.
An electrical fuel station right outside your door is just the best.
We live in a small rural village and we are also blessed with having a Polar rapid charger in a hotel car park, only a very short drive ( 2 miles ) from our house.
Should our wall box or Granny, develop a fault the rapid ( although more expensive ) is a great fallback plan.
I just need a safe 5 miles of range remaining in order to get there.
There is another rapid about 6 miles away in another hotel car pack, but not a Polar unit though.
I did consider all these factors before pulling the trigger on a full BEV.
My previous car was a VW Golf PHEV - That is how I got firmly bitten on the arse by the EV driving bug.
I lived and loved that car for over 4 years of ownership, but EV driving gets under your skin.
It’s a nice habit to be stuck with.
I was 100% sure that my next car after the PHEV would have to be full electric.
We have covered more miles in the last 15 months of ownership, than in my last two cars.
Just approaching 12,000 relaxing miles now in 15 months.
Oh ....... And with two lock downs thrown in for good measure in Wales bare to mind.
The car is SO affordable to run ( even on my OAP ) that the cost of the frequent trips are never an issue.
Almost ALL of these miles are “Pleasure Trips” now.
I have always enjoyed driving for pleasure, but in an EV it is absolutely brilliant experience.
The only people who make money out of cars, is the people selling them !.
They ALL loose value.
You have to have something to “Off Set” the loss or devaluation.
USING IT - is the answer !.
Don’t get me wrong, I look after my cars like they where a baby, I get of pleasure from keeping it looking at its best.
But it is not just a “Driveway Ornament” either, It is there to be used.

 

[Adee]

I'm fundamentally an environmentalist and also a tight-fisted git so it's great when you can kill two birds with one stone. I figured my MG5 investment would pay back after the first 7-10yrs

 

[Adee]

Oops - pressed the post button too soon........see previous comments. My calcs were based on a purchase price of £21k and a fuel saving of about £2.5k/yr and a small amount of residual value in 7yrs time when the warranty runs out. Just hoping the real cost of electricity doesn't offset this significantly.