Lichtblick Charging Station Check 2024: Charging on the go more expensive than refueling!

Charging an electric car on the go is becoming increasingly expensive in Germany. This is evident from the recently published Charging Station Check 2024. For the analysis, Statista evaluated the rates of leading operators on behalf of the Hamburg-based green electricity provider LichtBlick. Each kilowatt-hour of electricity charged at public charging stations costs e-mobilists an average of 55 cents at standard charging points (AC) and even 66 cents at fast charging points (DC). For a range of 100 kilometers (with a 20 kWh power consumption), this results in costs of 11.10 EUR or 13.11 EUR per charge. Drivers of combustion engine cars pay only 10.38 EUR for the same distance (with a consumption of six liters of gasoline) - climate-damaging refueling is therefore cheaper than charging on the go.

"The prices at gas and charging stations provide the wrong incentives for drivers and thus promote climate-damaging behavior. The development is fatal. For the transportation transition, a broad shift from combustion engine cars to e-cars is essential, as well as consumer-friendly prices at public charging stations," explains Markus Adam, Chief Legal Officer of LichtBlick, assessing the results of this year's survey.

Despite falling electricity prices: Charging on the go is becoming more expensive

The average prices per kilowatt-hour of electricity charged have continued to rise compared to the last Charging Station Check - the difference is 3 cents/kWh (AC) and 4 cents/kWh (DC). At the same time, the average price for household electricity has decreased in the same period. A similar trend cannot be observed for driving electricity on the go. Moreover, the access conditions at public charging stations also make the switch to an electric car unattractive.

For example, e-mobilists, especially on interregional trips, have to rely on various providers, each offering different access options (charging card, app). The result is a confusion of different charging cards and apps that customers must have ready for the start process. The so-called ad-hoc charging, which can be started spontaneously using a QR code on the charging stations, does not offer a satisfactory alternative for e-mobilists - the prices are more expensive than for contract-based driving electricity tariffs that e-mobilists conclude directly with the providers.

Local Monopolists Determine Charging Conditions and Prices

A primary reason for the increased prices at public normal charging stations is the formation of monopolies in the market. Local monopolists have been able to cement their high shares in the market over the years. These monopolists are typically the respective local energy providers, who are corporately affiliated with the local electricity network operator or are themselves network operators. Market shares of over 80 percent for normal charging points are the norm - at peak times, monopolists can even secure up to 93 percent of the market shares in their respective regions.

In the current market model, power suppliers cannot offer their own electricity at the charging station. Instead, the charging point operator alone determines the charging power supplier - this is usually the group's own distribution. Therefore, charging conditions and prices are effectively determined by the local monopolists. Due to the lack of competition, these monopolists can impose non-market-based, excessive prices for driving electricity on their own driving power customers.

Complaints of Discrimination Against Third-Party Providers

With their market power, local monopolists also discriminate against third-party providers such as LichtBlick, demanding up to 89 percent higher fees from them for using charging points compared to what their own customers pay for charging electricity. To be able to offer cost-covering charging electricity tariffs at public charging stations, third-party providers need to pass the charging electricity tariff of the roaming partner as well as the roaming fee onto their charging electricity customers. Competitive prices for e-mobilists are thus not possible.

Additionally, they cannot pass on the revenue from the greenhouse gas quotas to their customers. This remains exclusively reserved for the charging station operators or the charging point suppliers they determine. The consequence: this unilateral cost advantage exacerbates price discrimination and leads to third-party providers being pushed out of the market in the medium term. The Monopolies Commission has also confirmed in its latest sector report that the dominant position of the local provider leads to higher charging prices at standard charging points.