As electricity costs have soared in Britain, drivers are finding so too has the cost of driving environmentally friendly electric vehicles (EVs). Now it is more economical to drive gasoline and diesel vehicles due to the high cost of charging battery powered cars, according to a new report by the Climate Change Committee (CCC).

The increase in the cost of electricity as well as a broad reduction in disposable income among the population has hit EV owners in the UK hard, according to the report.

In its 2023 progress report to the UK parliament, the CCC said, “Sharply rising electricity prices have reduced the per-mile cost savings offered by EVs compared to fossil-fuelled vehicles.”

The CCC noted that EV drivers, who are reliant on rapid public charging systems, now are confronted with higher charges than the owners of gasoline or diesel vehicles, as they seek to power their automobiles. The sharp rises in the prices to charge their vehicles over the past year has hit both those who charge their cars at home, as well as those who use public charging stations.

It is predicted that the cost to charge electric vehicles will rise even higher, since the cost to produce electricity is directly linked to the cost of natural gas, which has seen prices soar since cheaper imported gas from Russian has been removed from the European market amid a broad range of sanctions imposed on the Kremlin, following the onset of the war in Ukraine.

Over the past year, Britain has expanded the EV charging network in the nation, according to the CCC’s report to parliament. However the analysts also noted that the provision of charging points across the nation was inconsistent, which gives rise to further concerns about their reliability and cost.