The Impact of Dynamic Prices on Electric Vehicle Public Charging Demand: Evidence from a Nationwide Natural Field Experiment

Understanding how to effectively influence electric vehicle (EV) charging behavior is critical for managing electricity grids powered by high levels of variable renewable generation. We present results from a large-scale natural field experiment conducted in the United Kingdom, involving approximately 110,000 EV customers and 60% of the country’s public charging infrastructure. Within this network, we applied a price decrease to approximately one-fifth of chargers to bring their prices closer to the marginal cost of electricity in low-cost hours in Great Britain. Customers were randomly assigned to different price levels, allowing us to estimate the causal effect of price on charging demand and derive elasticities of short-run behavioral responses. Customers were highly responsive to price: a 40% reduction in charging costs increased platform-wide charging activity by 117%, while a 15% price cut led to a 30% increase. Decomposing the increase in charging, we estimate that approximately half reflected substitution between charging apps. Our findings suggest that dynamic pricing for public EV charging generated large consumer welfare gains.