Power, motor | Electricity prices have dropped drastically

(Newspaper actor/Netavisen): Electricity prices remain low. On Saturday, the average price in Norway was 2.3 øre per kWh. This is 58.6 øre less than on the same day last year. It shows statistics Power transmission Nord Pool.

Despite the lower electricity prices, this has not affected the cost of fast charging.

– When I bought the car, I made an agreement with BMW about charging at Ionity chargers for a year at NOK 1.40 per kilowatt. A favorable agreement has been reached for higher electricity prices. Reino Klungland from Søgne says the price was slightly adjusted during the summer, and if I were to extend the contract, I would have to pay NOK two per kilowatt and NOK 200 monthly.

Tractor pulling

Without a favorable contract, Klängland says he would have to pay eight or nine kroner per kilowatt for lightning charging.

– Most electric cars use more than two kilowatts per mile. At a cost of eight kroner, 16 kroner per mile. If you own a car that uses less than a liter per mile, nothing is cheaper than diesel or petrol, Klungland says.

– Cheaper at today’s spot prices, I can charge a fraction of what I pay here at home, even if I have a favorable deal. However, I needed a short lunch stop on my drive from Sogné to Bryn to pick up a small tractor.

– What will the consumption be like with a tractor with a trailer behind the electric car?

– Nothing much extra, but when I drive with a horse trailer that provides more wind resistance, I use twice as much without a trailer, explains Klungland.

– Wife runs horses. I use a 1958 gray bag tractor to plow the horse track.

Excellent information

As an electric car owner, Klungland points out that he wants better information about what charging prices actually are.

– At petrol stations, the price is clearly indicated for diesel and petrol, but it is almost impossible to find out what you are actually paying for. There is also the confusion of apps and charging cards. I was able to figure it out, but I had to provide “telephone assistance” to my parents when they were traveling and needed to use their lightning chargers, says Klungland.

He bought a diesel car in his time when officials said it was the best purchase.

– I don’t want to switch to an electric car, but a few years ago when I was offered free charging at my place of work, it was nothing surprising. The first electric car paid for itself with free charging, reasonable maintenance and favorable arrangements, Klungland says, and continues:

– I understand that the state should remove some favorable schemes, but we do not need high electricity prices and high prices for fast charging.

One hundred times the spot price

Both last weekend and this weekend, there are many individual hours with a price of a few øre per kilowatt hour, and the average price for some days is around 70 øre. Low-cost electric car customers don’t benefit from charging stations. Pay 10 times the average price on certain days and 100 times the actual price for the cheapest hours.

Ionity – the European charging network for electric cars, a joint project of BMW, Mercedes, Ford and the VW Group – introduced a pricing strategy based on the price per kilowatt hour (kWt) a few years ago. Other charging companies have adopted a similar strategy, but that does not mean that the cost of charging stations follows the cost of electricity.

So-called lightning charging now costs from six kroner to ten kroner per kilowatt. The way charging operators have structured their pricing models, it costs extra to not sign up as a customer in advance. Regardless of whether you’re registered, prices are skyrocketing over recent weeks.

At several lightning charging stations in southern Norway on Friday, prices ranged from NOK 8.99 per kW at Cirkle K in Sira to NOK 8.07 per kW at Sørlandsparken.

Does not disclose strategy

– Why does Circle K charge NOK 8 per kilowatt at its fast charging stations when the average price of electricity since the beginning of October has been a couple of NOK in the most expensive parts of the country?

– It is not only electricity prices that control charging prices. We do not set our tariff prices exclusively based on spot prices or hourly prices, as electricity companies do, informs Knut Hilmar Hansen, Circle K Norge AS in Agder.

– Our prices are based on a thorough evaluation of many factors, not least of which are investment and operating costs, which are dominant and costly for us owners of fast chargers. We invest in large charging parks and are constantly working to find good locations for these charging parks. It costs. A lot of work is being done to make the charging experience better for customers and we are working on many exciting projects that will ultimately benefit the customer.

– Last weekend and this weekend there are individual hours with a price of 7.6 øre per kilowatt hour and an average price of 70 øre. Why shouldn’t lower prices be more rewarding for customers – rather than paying 10x the average price and 100x the actual price for the cheapest hours? What is Circle K doing to get the system to follow spot prices more closely, even if spot prices are lower in the short or long term?

– We aim to have competitive prices and are constantly evaluating in this regard. However, for competitive reasons, Hansen says we are not in a position to say anything about our pricing strategy or how we will price ourselves going forward.