Electricity is getting more expensive, prices have gone up: is this car still affordable?

Do electric cars still make sense due to high energy prices? Whoever fills it up at home will drive three times cheaper than a petrol car, and public charging stations are increasingly expensive. So this is primarily an addition to the local mobilization. Anyone who can’t charge their car at home is far from a rational purchase of an electric car.

Despite the rising prices of energy products, it is still seen that an electric vehicle can be a rational decision for those who can charge it cheaply and drive it often. In Ljubljana, I met a taxi driver who insisted that he had been waiting for the ordered electric car for several months. As he said, he will pay it at the expense of lower costs of ownership. This is not only cheaper basic energy, but also less services (depending on the producers), a lower interest rate when lending and a deductible value-added tax for business customers.

Domestic shipping is still very affordable at the moment, despite the high prices of energy products. Prices are expected to be higher, but domestic electricity is still three times cheaper than gasoline.
Photo: Reuters

One hundred kilometers to the house for 2 euros

However, the cost of using an electric vehicle has gone up in the past two or three years. There are practically no free charging stations anymore, the prices at them have skyrocketed. Charging at home, at least on the nightly tariff, remains fairly affordable, and the rate of value-added tax on electricity is currently being reduced. The price of charging an electric car at home still depends on the chosen provider and car consumption, but for a car with an average consumption of 18 kWh per hundred kilometers, a hundred kilometers of the “home” range will cost from two to 2.5 euros.

So home charging remains a necessary evil. The public charging infrastructure is not yet so widespread that a free connection every day can be counted on. It also charges the car much more quickly. There, the difference compared to gasoline is hardly noticeable. While at home we can charge the battery more slowly and with less energy, which also puts much less strain on the home network, charging on the street should be faster.

Electricity prices at Tesla charging stations have also risen sharply. In Slovenia more than 50 cents, in some places more than 60 cents. In the US, Tesla will supply the first charging stations with solar cells and battery storage, which, in theory, can even be disconnected from the grid and independently regulate the price of electricity.
Photo: Gregor Pavcic

For a gasoline car, to drive a hundred kilometers, if we fill the highway, and not in the city, we pay only 1.6 euros.
Photo: STA

100 km petrol or electric? What is the difference between pumps and filling stations?

If yesterday the difference in a liter of gasoline in Slovenia was at most 23 cents, which for a 50-liter container of fuel means a difference of 11.5 euros, then the differences in charging electric cars are much larger. It depends on the type of charging station (DC or AC) and the charging power, which directly affects the charging time.

Even inside gasoline, the difference per kilowatt-hour is up to 44 cents, which can mean a difference of about eight euros for a hundred kilometers from the average car. For a gasoline car, to drive a hundred kilometers, if we fill the highway, and not in the city, we pay only 1.6 euros.

Starting on November 1, GEN-I will also raise prices for its users. Currently, they can get electricity for free for the first three hours at certain charging stations. The new price list is not yet known.

Imposing prices on public infrastructure:

		Price per kWh (Euro)	Fee (in Euro)	100 km (consumption of 18 kW / 100 km)
Ionity	Capital	0.79		14.22
Tesla	Capital	0.55		9.9
Gasoline over 100 kW	Capital	0.66		11.88
Gasoline up to 50 kW	Capital	0.42		7.56
Gasoline up to 22 kW	Alternating current	0.29		5.22
We are going electric	Alternating current	0.25	0.50	5
Moon up to 50 kW	Capital	0.40	1	8.2
Moon over 50 kW	Capital	0.50	1	10
the moon	Alternating current	0.30	0.5	5.9
Mega up to 50 kW	Capital	0.35		6.3
Mega	Alternating current	0.40		7.20

If you fill the city, a hundred kilometers of run will cost you about five euros.
Photo: Gregor Pavcic

Public charging stations only as an addition, charging must be done at home

If we only see data on the most expensive providers in the table above, such as Ionity (without long-term connectivity) and Tesla charging stations, then this indicates higher costs for electric car owners. However, since they already use charging stations of all kinds, the costs are also distributed accordingly.

Those charging at home will not significantly increase their monthly costs even with occasional use of public infrastructure. Until the state, with appropriate laws and strategies, enables the planned construction of weaker charging points within apartment blocks, the difference in the availability of electric vehicles between residents of their own homes and those in multi-apartment buildings will grow.

More than high prices, fees are annoying in some places

Years ago, the accounting unit of Slovenia was not yet united. Some providers base their list prices on one kilowatt-hour (kilowatt-hour) of electricity (Elektro Ljubljana or Gremo na elektriko), others per minute unit of charge (gasoline), and others have a combination of power and charging time (fifts).

Some service providers use energy and charge a fee or upfront cost from the consumer. This has a significant impact on the price, especially during shorter charging periods, for example during a half-hour layover in the city – there, one extra euro means a large share of the final price of the electricity obtained. This is, for example, the Let’s Go to Electricity (Elektro Ljubljana) policy.

The highest prices are also the result of more powerful charging stations, providing power of more than 100 or even 200 kilowatts, which in 2020 was almost unknown.
Photo: Gregor Pavcic

Photo: Gregor Pavcic

Two years ago, slow charging on the street would have cost the same at home today

At the city’s public charging stations under Let’s Go Electric (Elektro Ljubljana), the collection of electricity consumption began on May 6, 2019. The price per minute for charging was from 0.01 to 0.03 euros (depending on the charging power). An hour of charging in the mid-range (power from 7.99 kW to 14.99 kW) costs 1.7 euros (including the initial charge of 50 cents). A car of this class gained 11 kWh of electricity in that hour, which was enough for a range of 70-80 kilometers.

Consumers otherwise support paid charging stations. At Siol.net, we conducted a survey in 2020 « Do you support payment systems at public electric charging stations? » As many as 59 percent of respondents answered “Yes, with an incentive-driven strategy” (n = 769).

How much has public fees become more expensive?

In 2020, Petrol also used DC charging stations that are billed per minute charged. The cost per minute is 20 cents (0.7 kWh). One kilowatt was calculated at a cost of 28 cents.

Let’s recall the price lists from 2020. One hundred kilometers (with a consumption of 16 kWh per 100 km) at the capital’s oil highway charging station costs six euros, at a local charging station about 1.8 euros (depending on the electricity supplier), at the Elektro Ljubljana charging station 2.5 Euros (or three Euros with a fee).

In the meantime, gasoline switched to the kilowatt-hour billing unit of electricity, charging no longer minute, and Gremo na elektrika capped the kilowatt-hour price regardless of charging power. For different types of cars, electricity has also become more expensive.

Today, with a consumption of 16 kWh per 100 km, a hundred kilometers of a gasoline road costs 6.72 euros (1 kWh equals 0.42 euros) – 72 cents (11 percent) more than in 2020. In Gremo na elektriko, One hundred kilometers today costs four euros (or 4.5 euros with fees) – one kilowatt actually costs 0.25 euros. For those who charge for one hour, the fee share is as high as 12.5 percent.

The highest prices are also the result of more powerful charging stations, providing power of more than 100 or even 200 kilowatts, which in 2020 was almost unknown.