The Cost of public charging

[5teep]

Video here explaining why public charging is so much more expensive than home charging.

 

[MG Clive]

Very interesting, it makes you wonder how the Tesla network can do it for a mere 37p/kWh.

 

[Rutsy]

Very interesting, it makes you wonder how the Tesla network can do it for a mere 37p/kWh.

To get that price don't you have to pay an additional subscription?

I've just compared regular Tesla and Ionity charging prices in Dover and Calais. Hardly scientific but it gives an impression of whether some companies are charging over the odds in the UK compared to France. The result is that Tesla prices are 30% higher in Dover, and Ionity 36%. A smaller difference than I'd assumed.

It's Sunday morning and things are quiet

 

[MG Clive]

To get that price don't you have to pay an additional subscription?

I have no idea mate, they don't mention a subscription in the video when they quote the price, and I don't use public charging, so I don't know.

 

[mystreet]

Tesla pricing is a 'rate per time of day' expect that it is at 3am when they are quieter and/or in an 'out of the way' place.

 

[siteguru]

In the UK ........ If you have a subscription with Tesla then you get the Tesla owner pricing throughout the day. Otherwise you pay the non-Tesla pricing. However, even the peak rate non-Tesla pricing is generally lower than that of most other CPOs (Charge Point Operators).

 

[EvTek23]

The companies who enter into the DC fast charge business must believe they'll go into profit at some point, otherwise how could they sell the business model to their investors as a permanent loss leader.Thats my observation.

 

[Bam Bam]

The companies who enter into the DC fast charge business must believe they'll go into profit at some point, otherwise how could they sell the business model to their investors as a permanent loss leader.Thats my observation.

It is a huge upfront investment to get the power to these devices and install them.

They will be hoping that their chargers are getting regular use so that they can make money on each kWh they deliver.

Alternative sources of investment:
1. The owners of the land will subsidise the charger install costs because they want to attract customers to their shops/cafe's/restaurants.
2. The government subsidises the installation to make sure that there is good national coverage, since the charging companies would prefer there to be a shortage to increase their profitability.

Price will come down in the long run, if...
1. We have lots of cheap renewable electricity that needs using.
2. There is competition between the charging points so that price becomes more of a factor because there isn't a big difference in convenience.

 

[AndrewS]

I may be cynical as it seems that the prices charged by all charge point operators surged upwards a couple of years ago - which to be fair was at the same time as all energy prices were rising rapidly. We now see that energy companies are making record profits yet the energy prices have not fallen to anything like the levels they were 4 years ago. Prices high & record profits. You'd almost imagine there's a direct link..... And the prices have not reduced, nor will they. CPO's can speed up the payback on their investments and the energy companys will continue to make record profits every year. So we, the EV drivers are stuck with prices which make public charging for our cars almost the same cost as running a small petrol or diesel car.

 

[Rolfe]

I know all that but I still don't like paying it!

 

[Gomev]

Very interesting, it makes you wonder how the Tesla network can do it for a mere 37p/kWh.

Maybe they give you a clue near the end of the video (2:48).

 

[lordsofthewaun]

Tesla Northampton today…

 

[Mchooligan]

Video here explaining why public charging is so much more expensive than home charging.

The problem for independent CPOs is that battery technology is improving exponentially so that even long road trips will require little or no interim charging. Slower destination charging without an overstay penalty would be more appealing especially when it's so much cheaper. I fear a lot of these CPOs won't be around long enough to benefit from the ultimate transition to EVs.

 

[DavidB54]

It is a huge upfront investment to get the power to these devices and install them.

They will be hoping that their chargers are getting regular use so that they can make money on each kWh they deliver.

Alternative sources of investment:
1. The owners of the land will subsidise the charger install costs because they want to attract customers to their shops/cafe's/restaurants.
2. The government subsidises the installation to make sure that there is good national coverage, since the charging companies would prefer there to be a shortage to increase their profitability.

Price will come down in the long run, if...
1. We have lots of cheap renewable electricity that needs using.
2. There is competition between the charging points so that price becomes more of a factor because there isn't a big difference in convenience.

and if we can encourage the Supermarkets to enter the market AT SCALE and do to EV Charging prices what they did to Fuel costs in the 19702 and '80s

 

[Gomev]

and if we can encourage the Supermarkets to enter the market AT SCALE and do to EV Charging prices what they did to Fuel costs in the 19702 and '80s

Unfortunately Sainsbury's aren't really making any dents in pricing at 72p.

 

[David B]

Very interesting, it makes you wonder how the Tesla network can do it for a mere 37p/kWh.

I seem to remember hearing somewhere (maybe a ‘Dave Takes It On’ video, not sure) that one of the reasons Tesla can offer such low prices is because at their charging stations they have large battery storage facilities. This allows Tesla to buy from the grid at times when the price for electricity is low. There are also times when the grid has too much power and Tesla is able to have this power for free.