A guide to using EV charging stations

Using a public electric car charge point comes down to four steps: find one, plug in, start the session (and pay for it), then unplug. Once you've done it once, it's about as involved as paying at a car park machine. 

This guide covers how to use electric car charging points in the UK, from the types of EV charger to what it costs and what to do when one won't play ball. 

• Public EV charging runs at four speeds, from slow at up to 8kW to ultra rapid at 150kW and above. Rapid and ultra rapid chargers have a CCS cable attached, slower ones usually don't so you’ll need to use your own.
• Most public chargers take a contactless bank card. New chargers of 8kW and above, installed after November 2024, and all chargers of 50kW and above, have to accept one under the 2023 regulations.
• The UK had 115,000 charge points across 40,000 locations in August 2026, according to Electroverse.
• Public charging generally costs more than home charging. Rates averaged 54p per kWh on standard chargers and 77p per kWh on rapid and ultra rapid ones in August 2026, according to Zapmap.
• If a charger won't start, call the number on the unit. Operators have to run a free helpline, staffed 24 hours a day.

A public charge point sells you electricity by the kilowatt hour, the way a pump sells petrol by the litre. You plug your electric car in, start the session with a contactless card, a charging card or an app, and stop when you've got what you need. Public chargers will often pre-authorise a certain amount on your card first, but once your charge has finished, it’ll only charge you for the energy you take.

EV charging comes in two flavours. Slower chargers supply alternating current (AC), which your car converts on board, and that conversion caps the speed. Rapid ones supply direct current (DC) straight to the battery, which is why they're quicker.

Four speeds, split across two connectors: Slow chargers run up to 8kW, fast ones from 8kW to 49kW, rapid ones from 50kW to 149kW, and ultra rapid ones at 150kW and above.

Those speeds are the maximum each charger supports. What you actually get depends on your car, how full the battery is, and other factors.

Your EV most likely comes with a CCS charging port and a Type 2 charging port. In some cases, you may have an EV with a CHAdemo charging port, though these are being slowly phased out.

Your CCS charger is used for fast and rapid (DC) charging (over 50k W/h) and your Type 2 is used for slower (AC) charging (usually 7 kW/h and 22 kW/h).

CCS cables are attached to the charging station, whereas Type 2’s are provided with your EV and you’ll often need to have this with you when charging (we recommend keeping it in your boot when not charging).

Use a charging map, like Electroverse. Most EVs have chargers built into the sat nav, and charging apps show what's nearby, whether a bay is free and what it costs. Some plan the stop into your route.

Before you set off, check three things:

• Which connector the site has, and whether a cable's attached.
• How far off your route it is, and what's there while you wait.
• Whether it's on a network you already have a card for.

Worry about finding a charger is common before people make the switch to electric. 44% of non-EV drivers said charger availability is a concern they have about getting an electric car, and 53% named running out of charge on a journey, in recent YouGov research. 

EV charging infrastructure has grown quickly, though. There were 115,000 charge points across 40,000 locations in the UK in August 2026.

Park, check the price, plug in, start, unplug. 

1. Park so the cable reaches. Check which side your charging socket is on before you pull in. Nobody enjoys reversing back out of a bay with an audience.
2. Check the price on the screen. The maximum price has to be displayed in pence per kilowatt hour under the 2023 charge point regulations.
3. Plug in. For CCS, plug the attached cable straight into your car. For Type 2, the larger end goes into the car and the smaller end into the charger.
4. Start the session. Either tap your contactless bank card, tap your charging card, or start it in the app.
5. Check it's actually charging. The car’s screen or app will show power flowing, and most cars flash a light near the charging port.
6. Stop, unplug, stow the cable. End the session first, then take the cable out and put it away.

Stop it the way you started it, with the stop button on the charger screen or the stop control in your car’s app. The cable stays locked into your car until the session ends, and every public charge point has an emergency stop button. If the cable won't come out, unlock the car. That releases the latch on most models. In some other models, you may also have a charger unlock button you can use if the plug still isn’t coming out.

It depends on the charger's speed and how empty the battery is. On an ultra rapid charger of 150kW and above, a top-up from 10% to 80% often takes about half an hour. On a 7kW lamp post charger, the same top-up takes most of a working day.

Here’s an example. Take an MG4 with a 61.7kWh usable battery and about 220 miles of real-world range (EV Database, May 2026). Going from 10% to 80% puts roughly 43kWh in. That's around 35 minutes at a steady 75kW, or about six hours on a 7kW charger. Real sessions run longer than the flat sums suggest, because charging slows as the battery fills.

That tapering is why drivers stop at 80% on a rapid charger. The last 20% is the slowest part, so on a long trip you may be better off moving on. There's more in our guide to EV charging times.

Public charging generally costs than at charging your EV at home. 

Public charging averaged 54p per kWh on standard chargers and 77p per kWh on rapid and ultra rapid ones in January 2026, according to Zapmap. 

Home charging on Octopus Energy's Intelligent Octopus Go - EV Saver tariff costs just 7p per kWh. That’s a rate exclusive to Octopus EV drivers. If you got your car from elsewhere it’ll still still only cost 8p per kWh on Intelligent Octopus Go. 

Public rates are averages from the AA's EV Recharge Report, January 2026. The home rate is Octopus Energy's Intelligent Octopus Go - EV Saver. Charge costs assume a 61.7kWh usable battery and these costs are examples, they don’t cover every cost you might come across.

Some of the gap between home charging and public charging is down to tax. Electricity from a public charge point is standard rated for VAT at 20%, while electricity supplied to your home is at 0% as of 1st October 2026. 

A full charge at home can cost just £4.32 in a typical EV, compared with £38.74 for the same amount of miles in an equivalent petrol car. 

If you’ve got your car through Octopus EV, you can also access heavily discounted kerbside charging from selected providers. It works out at about 26p per kWh, or £16.04 for a full 61.7kWh charge. 

You have a few options, and most chargers take at least two.

1. A contactless bank card or RFID card (like Electroverse. Tap and go. Chargers often hold a deposit first, then refund the difference once they know what you used.
2. A charging card. One card across lots of networks, billed together rather than as a dozen separate payments.
3. The operator's app. You add payment details when you sign up, then start and stop the session on your phone.

Contactless isn't optional on newer units. Under the 2023 charge point regulations, new public chargers of 8kW and above installed after 24 November 2024, and all public chargers of 50kW and above, have to accept a contactless card.

Many public charging operators also have to let you pay through at least one roaming provider, which is what lets a single charging card work across networks - like Electroverse.

If you get your car through Octopus EV, we make it even easier for you to get started. You’ll find a free Electroverse card in your car when we deliver it. So all you need to do is sign up to an account, enter your car details, add a payment card and you’re good to go. Plus as an Octopus EV driver you get a discount via Electroverse. The amount you save depends on whether you have a personal lease (which gets you at 10% discount), or pay for your car through salary sacrifice (8% discount). 

Electroverse isn’t just a payment card. The app’s route planner will find the most efficient charging stops for you along your journey. So you just put your starting point and destination in, and the app will show you the most sensible charging stops on route. It shows the charger’s speed, price, whether they’re working, how many are available right now, and the type of connection. No more detours to find a charger on route, and no more ‘hoping for the best’.

Try the quick fixes first, then call the operator. Most failed sessions come back at step one or two:

1. Unplug, wait a moment, plug back in.
2. Check the cable is pushed fully home at both ends.
3. Start it a different way, for example contactless instead of the app.
4. Check your car isn't on a charging schedule holding the session back.
5. Call the number on the unit. Operators have to run a free telephone helpline, staffed 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

Rapid charger networks have to be available 99% of the time on average across the year, measured across the operator's whole 50kW-plus network, so a dead unit should be the exception. If it's charging but slower than you expected, that's usually the battery, the weather or a shared charger. More on that in our guide to slow charging speeds.

Not for rapid and ultra rapid chargers, because the CCS cable is attached to the unit. For slow and fast AC chargers at car parks, lamp posts and hotels you'll need your own Type 2 cable. Most EVs come with one.

Almost. Nearly every electric vehicle sold in the UK uses Type 2 for AC charging and CCS for rapid DC charging, so most chargers will work with most cars. A small number of older cars use CHAdeMO, which fewer sites now offer, so check your connector before a long trip.

Usually, and by a wide margin. Public rates averaged 54p to 77p per kWh in August 2026, according to Zapmap, compared with 6.6p per kWh on Octopus Energy's Intelligent Octopus Go - EV Saver on 1st October 2026. Tax plays a part: public charging carries 20% VAT, home electricity 0%.

Not usually. New chargers of 8kW and above installed after 24 November 2024, and all chargers of 50kW and above, have to take contactless bank cards under the charge point regulations. Apps and charging cards are still worth having, because they often work out cheaper and save you a deposit hold on your card.

Some networks add an overstay fee once your session ends, charged by the minute, to keep bays moving. The amount and any grace period vary by operator and are shown on the screen or in the app. Even if they don’t, it’s good EV charging etiquette to move the car when you reasonably can.

The maximum price has to be displayed in pence per kilowatt hour, either on the unit itself or in the app you use to start the session. That's a requirement of the 2023 charge point regulations. Charging maps often show current prices for a site aswell.