This is how the price of electricity at the charging station is made up
The public charging infrastructure for e-cars is highly fragmented. There are a large number of operators of charging points, most of which have different kWh-Set the price. Various charging services, such as providers of charging cards or charging apps, are trying to simplify this tariff mosaic and offer their own tariffs for the entire connected charging infrastructure. But what is the composition of the price that you have to pay at the charging station? And why is it different from your electricity price at home, for example?
The most important players at the charging point
In order to understand how the price is made up, it is necessary to know the players who are responsible for the charging station and a charging solution:
It all starts with the electricity that is being charged coming to the charging station. For this purpose, a charging point is powered by a energy suppliers powered by electricity.
A Charging point operator (CPO) is responsible for the operational operation of the charging station. This includes, for example, the planning and construction of charging stations, the connection to an IT backend for data collection during charging processes or billing, maintenance and much more. Charging point operators can own a charging point or be commissioned by it.
Now the provider of your charging app or card comes into play: Electric mobility providers (EMP). They offer the Charging point users access to public charging infrastructure. They settle the charges with you as the user and with the charging point operator.
Good to know: In some cases, parts of the “chain of actors” may be represented by the same company - e.g. if the company is also an energy supplier, owner and operator of the charging point and charging provider (EMP).
The kWh price at the charging station
Now you know the most important players at the charging point, which results in the price structure and thus the kWh price at the charging provider.
Die energy suppliers deliver electricity to charging points at a specific price (per kWh). That is the price they pay Charging point operator the energy supplier.
Charging point operators are now setting a price per kilowatt hour compared to charging providers (EMP) firm. This includes a margin to cover your own costs for operating the charging point, for example. There are also additional price components, such as additional charges per minute and one-time charges (e.g. for starting the charging process). The price charged to charging providers per kilowatt hour is therefore higher than the electricity price that charging point operators buy. Each charging point operator sets its own pricing structure, so that the fees differ depending on the operator.
Charging providers are now charging their customers accordingly (who Charging point users) fixed. Since charging providers also have to cover their own costs, for example for operating and developing the charging app, providing charging cards and not to forget the remuneration of their own employees, a margin is also set on the purchase price here.