Electric vehicles have been spreading rapidly in recent years, and many people are buying them because of their low maintenance costs.
However, with the recent increase in electricity prices, the cost of charging electric vehicles has also risen, and car owners are becoming increasingly dissatisfied.
Reporter Bae Ji-hyun reported.
[Report]
Mr. Kang Yoo-joo, who bought an electric car three years ago, has been thinking about whether to sell it.
As electricity prices continue to rise, the burden of maintenance costs has increased.
[Kang Yoo-joo/electric car owner: “It used to cost around 10,000 won to fill up, but nowadays it costs over 20,000 won to fill up, so it’s almost a 2-fold difference. The price of electricity is really going up…”]
On the same day that KEPCO raised electricity rates by 8 won, it also raised the price of electric vehicle charging facilities for apartments it operates.
Charging rates have already risen once since the special discount on electric vehicle charging ended in September last year.
With KEPCO raising its charges first, the industry is speculating that other charging companies will follow suit.
[Private charging company official/voice modulation: “If the Ministry of Environment raises the rates in the future, I wonder if (private) charging companies will adjust their stance accordingly.”]
The Ministry of the Environment, the lead ministry스포츠토토, says it’s only just beginning to consider the hike, but subsistence EV owners like truckers and taxi drivers, who have no choice but to use the more expensive fast chargers, are uneasy.
[Heo Chil-sung/electric truck owner: “I’m worried just hearing about (the fee going up), because it’s for the common people.”]
There are also concerns that the hike in charging fees, coupled with the reduction in subsidies for electric vehicles, will disrupt the government’s policy of promoting eco-friendly electric vehicles.
I’m Bae Ji-hyun of KBS News.