Electric charging: flat rates to combat high energy prices

Do energy price hikes have a dramatic impact for electric car owners? Fortunately not: in spite of recent increases in electricity prices, charging electric vehicles is still competitive compared to filling up with gasoline. Recent studies claiming the contrary have been found by Motus - E to be “misleading for consumers and businesses.”

Thanks to our FLAT rates, which have remained unchanged even in the wake of the recent energy price increases, the comparison between energy costs for electric and gasoline cars still favors the former, which cost up to 53% less. So, assuming consumption of 0.18 kWh, the cost of traveling 100 km in a battery-powered vehicle is equal to around €5.60, compared with €11.70 for a gasoline car with fuel efficiency of 6.9 km/liter.

 

In this context, moreover, we cannot overlook the cut in excise duties, which temporarily benefits fuels: the expiry of this measure, which was scheduled for November 18, could soon see the price of gasoline and diesel return to their March levels with a rise of around €0.30 per liter. The temporary exemption of system charges for electricity, on the other hand, is far more modest at €0.04 per kWh, which is about 6% of the current energy price, compared with 47% less for the cut in excise duty.

Users who take advantage of our flat rate are protected from the increases in electric car charging costs. The decision to keep the cost of our electric charging subscription unchanged was driven by our desire to contain charging costs following the recent increases in energy prices.

More specifically, there are now two flat rates available for our customers that choose to charge their electric cars at our public charging columns:

• Flat SMALL, which costs €25 for up to 70 kWh of charging
• Flat LARGE, which costs €45 for up to 145 kWh of charging

These rates translate into costs of €0.36 and €0.31 per kWh respectively, with a notable saving compared with pay-as-you-go consumption. If we use the example of a B-segment vehicle with an average consumption of 6.9km/kWh and a subscription to the Flat LARGE plan, those who travel less than 1000km a month (let’s say 850/900km) continue to pay the same price for electric car charging at public columns as they did in 2021, thanks to Enel X Way’s decision not to alter the flat-rate plans.

 

Those, however, who travel 1000 km a month with the same type of vehicle could pay the same plus some extra charges at the pay-as-you-go rate: on average €10, as can be seen in the table below. When calculating the figures we considered the following mix of kWh supplied by our public infrastructure, with different rates: 60% of the extra charge from columns in alternate current (AC), 35% direct current (DC) and 5% high voltage direct current (HVDC).

_{*average of 850-900 km / month}

 

In all cases, therefore, when using Enel X Way’s Flat LARGE rate, at a cost of €45 for 145 kWh, the comparison between public charging columns is still broadly favorable for electric cars (in some cases up to 50% less for every 1000km).

As for domestic charging, the rates for which, unfortunately, compare unfavorably with those in 2021, it should be said that it is quite rare that all charges carried out occur exclusively in a residential setting. It is more likely that charging will require only public charging or a combination with domestic charging: this is an aspect to be taken into consideration when comparing electric car charging rates. After all, Italian motorists can count on around 32,800 charging points across the country, with those of Enel X Way numbering more than 16,400, for a total of around 21 charging points for every 100 electric vehicles. This figure is higher than those in France, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom. And even in the case of mixed charging, Enel X Way’s Flat options are instrumental in containing costs amid the recent electricity price hikes and ensuring battery-powered vehicles are cheaper to run. In the end, the beauty of electric cars is that they are sustainable, fun and cost-effective.