The cheapest public EV charging in Britain is hiding in plain sight — bolted to lampposts. On-street chargers cost from 32.5p/kWh in the cheapest areas we track, roughly half the typical rapid-charging rate, and there are more of them than every other kind of public charger combined. Yet most drivers have never used one.
What lamppost charging is
Councils and operators (ubitricity — a Shell company — is by far the largest) retrofit street lights and bollards with a standard Type 2 socket delivering 3–7kW, occasionally more. It is slow by design: these are dwell chargers, meant for cars that live on the street overnight — exactly the drivers who cannot get a home tariff. Plug in at 7pm, wake up to a full battery.
What it costs
| Setting | Price (July 2026, our data) | Overnight 40kWh top-up |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest boroughs we track | 32.5p/kWh | £13.00 |
| Typical London lamppost | 55p/kWh | £22.00 |
| Compare: rapid DC | 61–92p/kWh | £24.40–£36.80 |
| Compare: home off-peak | 7–9p/kWh | £2.80–£3.60 |
Prices vary by borough because operators agree tariffs with each council — the same network can charge 32.5p on one street and 55p two miles away. That is exactly the kind of quiet variation our live EV search exists to expose: search your area and the price differences are immediately visible.
How to use one
- Bring your own cable — lamppost sockets are untethered Type 2.
- Start the charge by contactless payment, QR code or the operator’s app, depending on the unit.
- Check the bay rules — some are EV-only bays, many are ordinary parking where normal restrictions apply.
- Mind the etiquette: move on when charged if bays are scarce, and never trail cables across the pavement.
The catch
Speed. At 5kW, an hour buys you roughly 17 miles of range — useless for a motorway stop, perfect for overnight. And coverage is uneven: dense in London boroughs that embraced the scheme, sparse elsewhere — though the network is growing as more councils sign up. Where they exist, lamppost chargers are usually the cheapest public electricity you can put in a car; our search shows every one we track, with its live price, next to the rapid alternatives so you can make the trade-off yourself.