An upsurge in the electricity demand seems inevitable due to the large-scale deployment of electric vehicles (EVs). Demand response, which is a potential avenue to curb this demand, aims at reduction of power generation costs and electricity bills by allowing control of electricity consumption through electricity prices. This study proposes a holistic approach to combining the behaviour of EV users and customers with other elastic loads participating in demand response to make the scenario more realistic. In this study, various cases with single and multiple utility companies (UCs), which try to set the prices in such a way so as to maximise their profits, have been considered. A Stackelberg game model has been designed to address this conflict of interests between the UCs and the customers. This study considers different utility functions for different types of customers in order to meet their energy requirements meanwhile maximising the profits of the UCs at the Stackelberg equilibrium. The impact of the increase in competition is also studied. © The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2018.