Skip to content

Electric forklifts and your bill

Will switching to electric forklifts raise your electric bill? Yes—but you’ll still save money overall.

Converting from internal combustion (IC) to battery-powered electric forklifts will add to your electric bill. How much your bill will change will depend on:

  • The number and type of electric forklifts in your facility
  • The number and type of batteries
  • The efficiency of the battery chargers
  • Your current rate for electricity

Even with this increase in your electricity bill, you’ll still save money. Cost comparisons conducted by forklift, battery, and charger manufacturers, as well as by electric power companies and research groups, have consistently shown that the cost of electricity per forklift is far less than the cost of other types of fuel.

Check out our electric forklift cost calculator to see the lifecycle cost comparisons between electric and internal-combustion engine forklifts.