Ran the numbers on this month's public charging bill and it's basically what I'd have spent on fuel
Three years without a home charging option now — no carport, no driveway, whatever GPO exists in this building's basement isn't near my bay and the body corporate isn't touching it (different thread, don't get me started). So it's all public AC and DC for me, mostly Chargefox and Evie around Fremantle and into Perth for work.
Actually sat down and added up this month's charging receipts against what I was paying for fuel in the old Corolla, adjusting for the same monthly kms. Averaged close to 55c/kWh across the fast chargers I used, a couple of sessions closer to 60c during peak windows. Once I factored in the utilisation, it landed within about $15 of what the Corolla would've cost me for the same driving.
Genuinely didn't expect that. Is this just a Perth/WA pricing thing, or is everyone doing public-only charging now getting closer to petrol parity? Feels like the entire "EVs are cheaper to run" pitch assumes you've got a home charger, which a lot of us don't.
Filed under: Apartments & Public Charging
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@davo9July 24, 2026
The gap's not really about EVs, it's about which rate you're on. My off-peak home tariff sits under 20c/kWh before solar offsets anything. Public DC networks are pricing in demand charges and site lease costs that never show up on a home meter, that's most of your 55c, not margin.
So there's genuinely no way to get close to home rates on public DC even off-peak, it's just structurally a different price point?
Pretty much. AC destination charging gets closer, 25-35c/kWh on some networks, but the second you're on a DC fast charger you're paying the site's demand tariff, not a retail residential rate.
Not fully buying that it's all demand charges. Some sites are just pricing to whatever the market will bear. 55c on a DC unit with no amenities isn't cost-reflective, it's what people pay when they've got no other option.
@margs4lifeJuly 24, 2026
Regional NSW here, nearest fast charger's forty minutes away so I mostly charge at home, but visiting Sydney I saw the same 55-60c pricing. Is metro public charging just priced differently to keep up with demand?
@just_lurking22July 24, 2026
does off-peak DC pricing exist anywhere, or is it pretty much flat rate no matter what time you plug in?
Not really, and it comes down to why DC pricing is structured the way it is. Home retail tariffs vary by time because the grid cost varies by time. DC network pricing is mostly built around demand charges and site costs that don't move with the clock, so there's not much incentive for the operator to discount overnight the way a retailer discounts off-peak. A few sites here and there have run short-lived off-peak promos, but I haven't seen it as a standing structural thing on any of the major networks — it's essentially flat regardless of when you plug in.
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