Letter: Plugging in and coughing up in New Forest

As a good citizen, who occasionally follows government advice, I changed my car from a petrol driven car to a diesel and then back to a petrol hybrid and then to a plug-in Hybrid (PHEV), all because it was good for the environment.

After much searching, I have now replaced my PHEV with a full electric car (EV), because this is what the government and the green activist recommend if I am to help save the planet.

Well guess what… after a few days, during which I found four EV charge points that would not charge my car, I eventually found one of the new fast chargers that would work with my car. I duly waited 60 minutes for a full top-up and went on my way. It was only when I got the receipt that I realized something was wrong.

My diesel car cost me 17 pence per mile in fossil fuel and my PHEV, due to the increased weight, cost me 19 pence per mile in a mixture of fossil fuel and electricity. But my EV cost me 30 pence per mile?

It would appear that one government department wants everyone to run electric cars while another one (Energy and Culture) sets the electricity cap for the suppliers to make a profit.

Now the two departments have a conundrum, do they raise fuel duty to increase the revenue to the treasury but hack of the electorate, or do they reduce the energy cap on the suppliers and hack off their business buddies?

This looks like a rock and a hard place to me; in this election year they will probably do nothing and leave it to the next lot.

To all you readers, remember the old adage: if it looks too good to be true, leave it alone.

Iain Robinson

Barton On Sea