Figures from British Gas show there are currently 21 local authorities in England and Wales that allow drivers to charge their batteries free of charge but in some areas motorists are forced to pay as much as £4 per kilowatt hour.
Analysis found that at that price it would cost around £240 to charge a typical EV from full to flat while it would cost around £3.90 to fully charge the same car at home using a dedicated off-peak EV tariff.
The data found that drivers in the south of England generally have access to more devices but also have to pay more to use them. .
The average cost per kWh at the cheapest charging points across East Anglia, London, the South East and the South West is 32p, compared with 25p in the Midlands, the North East, the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber and Wales.
The figures were obtained following Freedom of Information requests to more than 400 councils and those offering free charging include Bridgend, Leeds and Woking.
The most expensive fees are charged by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council on the south coast, and Cotswold District Council, Gloucestershire, at £4 per kWh.
The figures do not take into account the speed of the charging points.
British Gas issued a warning over the ‘postcode lottery’ of fees after commissioning a survey of 2,000 motorists, which indicated one in three are nervous about switching to EVs due to charging costs.
The energy firm’s head of EV enablement, Lucy Simpson, said, “The latest figures released demonstrate the need for all UK councils to play their part in supporting the transition to electric vehicles.
“Currently, we have 21 progressive councils that have decided to support local EV adoption, so we would expect a greater uptake of EVs to come through in these areas than in councils where it is expensive to charge.
“If charging doesn’t become more accessible in these areas, we could see a slower rate of adoption.”