Unlike forecourt signage for fuel prices, are there ways to compare fast EV charging prices? I find the cost per kW is tucked away in each app. I realise at some locations there is often no choice, and even no available or working charger. However, easy comparisons could help competition on prices. – C Clancy, Co Dublin
This is a very good point – fully transparent pricing has a massive effect on consumer habits, and can be a useful tool in driving prices down. Given the recent price hikes from major electric vehicle (EV) charging suppliers, we could do with all the tools we can find.
There is some forecourt signage for EV pricing. EG Group in the UK, which currently operates about 300 fuel forecourts – although it’s in the process of pulling out of that market – had begun to roll out charging costs on the “totem pole” displays where you’d expect to find the per-litre costs for petrol and diesel. As far as I’m aware – and I’m happy to be proved wrong on this score – no one in Ireland has yet followed suit.
Clearly, there’s a cost involved in doing so – those “totem pole” displays usually only have two readouts, one for petrol and one for diesel, so you’re going to have to get forecourt operators to invest in new infrastructure to display the charging costs up high where everyone can see them.
RM Block
There is charging cost data in the myriad apps which are needed to access charging points, but of course, checking an app while you’re driving is often not safe or legal.
However, there are other potential solutions. “The number one thing you have to remember is that this is an industry still in its infancy, so we’re still very much at the stage of working out how best to do these things,” says Ivan O’Connor, head of charging provider ePower.
“What I can tell you is that we’re currently starting to roll out chargers with 27-inch display screens, on which the price for charging can be clearly displayed. It also becomes an opportunity for on-charger advertising, which is a potential revenue stream, which will encourage the uptake of charging points.
“Obviously, not everywhere has one of those service station totem poles on which to display charging costs, but I think it’s worthy of consideration for other sites where we might have some signage saying ‘EV charging here’ and integrating into that a petrol station-type visual display of the price per kW. That said, being honest with you, mobility charging hubs are expensive things to stand up, so any additional costs on top – such as for a live pricing display – will always be a challenge. There’s always that bit of friction between doing what you’d love to do and doing what’s economically viable.”
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There are other potential solutions too, such as displaying live pricing through Google Maps, Apple Maps, Waze or one of the other mobile mapping providers. Not only could you glance at your phone to check prices before setting off, but those mapping services are compatible with in-car displays via Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, and so could be easily and safely checked while on the move. Equally, most electric cars now have built-in sat-nav with live connected services which cannot only display pricing for charging, but also let you know how many chargers at a chosen destination are currently available.
One thing that may well change the landscape when it comes to EV charging on the go, and how much it costs, will be the arrival into the market of discount fuelling brands, especially supermarkets. The likes of Tesco knows that cheap petrol has been a big draw for customers who, if they’re coming to fuel up might as well fill up on bananas, bread and biscuits too. That kind of model translates handily to EVs, too, as by attracting EV owners with cut-price charging, retailers know that those people will be on site for at least several minutes, maybe as much as an hour, and that they’ll plan shopping trips around charging stops. One industry insider told The Irish Times that the arrival of such discounters into the charging market will “move the dial” on charging costs, and that “they will not sell at high-street prices, they live and die by discounting”.
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Presumably, if such charging providers are going to ask you for less money per kWh, they’ll want you to know all about it, and so expect to see a great deal more high-visibility displays of cost per charge in the coming months.
