On 22/04/2021 19:38, nightjar wrote:
On 22/04/2021 18:24, Robin wrote:

e.Â*Â*Â* all even more reliable (else as it's all to easy to foresee the
headlines when inability to charge leads to injury or death.

What is rather more difficult to foresee is any reasonably predictable
situation where a failure to charge leads to injury or death. It is no
more of a problem than a car running out of fuel.

Anyone can see when they drive home if they will have enough fuel to get
to work - or to a family member - in an emergency. They can't see that
their car will fail to charge while they are in bed because of a glitch
in the system.


The price per kWH will be the same for all. The difference in price for
the various uses will be government taxes* and duties. Those should be
shown on the bill as separate items.

* probably 20% VAT as for road fuels.

On that basis the price of red diesel is much the same as diesel at any
filling station. I'd love to see you sell that to drivers on a forecourt.

There is no tradition of consumer sales on the basis of prices before
tax and duties in this country. And legislation largely forbids their use.

You might argue it's carrying over the differences now between road
fuels and other oils.Â* But EVs are being forced on people to save the
planet, as part of a program to cut back on energy consumption
generally.Â* What makes EVs uniqulety bad when it's all carbon neutral?

Road Fuel Duty has little or nothing to do with trying to make
everything carbon neutral. It is a source of government income,
amounting to about 1% of GDP. The Treasury is determined to replace it
with something. That will probably be some form of road pricing, but I
am simply pointing out that it need not be.



I did not say that fuel duties have anything to do with the move to net
zero. I said that the switch to EVs does.

It's a stretch to call of this "DIY tax policy" so in brief:

Fuel duties have a rationale in the external costs of motoring. They
are particularly good at capturing the externalities such as pollution
and carbon emissions from petrol and diesel. But they are less good (=
**** poor) when it comes to costs such as congestion, accidents and
noise which vary enormously with when and where you drive. Taxes on
fuel just cannot vary with time and place.

A tax on electricity for EVs lacks the justification of pollution and
carbon emissions. (Or rather, lacks the justification to tax a kWh for
EVs more than a kWh for a patio heater)

As for other externalities, road pricing is more direct and gives
clearer signals to consumers. Especially if it varies with when and where.


--
Robin
reply-to address is (intended to be) valid