Total Energies, owner of the Parisian Belib’ charging network, has just made a radical decision: lower prices. This drop follows the toll caused by the recent rise in prices. The reason: recharging electric cars costs about twice as much as a full tank of gasoline.
At this time
8 months Free on the ULYS electronic toll
On January 3, 2023, TotalEnergies, the operator of the Belib’ charging stations installed in Paris and the Paris region, made a highly questionable decision. The French oil giant had announced a massive increase in the price of cargo at the Belib’ terminals.
At the time, we calculated that refueling a Tesla Model 3 Long Autonomy cost between 32 and 56 euros depending on the power of the terminal used (7 or 50 kW). This is huge, since the cost per 100 km was then 18 euros, compared to almost half of a diesel car.
A big drop in the price of recharging in Paris
Fortunately, TotalEnergies has just announced a substantial drop in Belib’ rates. Thus, to recharge a Tesla Model 3 Grande Autonomie, the maximum rate increases to about 40 euros in slow terminals a 7 kW unit 22 euros in a 50 kW terminal (the equivalent of a Tesla supercharger). The price is still high for a 7 kW terminal, but it also includes 7 hours of visitor parking. And at the price of parking in Paris, it’s bordering on a bargain.
Rates for non-resident subscribers and resident subscribers are even weaker and have also decreased. For example, for resident subscribers, slow 7 kW handsets are much more affordable. The price per kWh thus goes from 0.55 to 0.35 euros and the price per quarter hour from 0.60 to 0.35 euros during the day. The latter can even drop to 0.05 euros in the middle of the night.
About what recharge a Tesla Model 3 Great Autonomy for about 15 euros during off-peak hours at night (11:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.). So this is excellent news for electric car owners in Ile-de-France. Because at this price, the cost per 100 km is about 5 euros. It is therefore much cheaper than driving a thermal car, either gasoline or diesel.
Decisions that do not reassure
But these two extreme price adjustments in a few days do not give a very good image of the electric car. In fact, it is difficult, under these conditions, to be able to anticipate the cost of an electric car and the profit that can be obtained from it compared to a thermal car. But let’s not forget that gasoline and diesel prices vary every day. Therefore, the uncertainty is even higher on the thermal side.
It should be noted, however, that this situation is not specific to Belib’ and therefore TotalEnergies. Most charging network operators have varied the price per kWh in recent months, particularly due to the energy crisis. This is particularly the case with Tesla, which is changing prices almost every week right now.
Freight prices are yo-yo
We imagine that the American manufacturer has closed a wholesale contract with rates that change weekly according to the price of electricity. Tesla then changes the price for the final consumer, to better reflect the cost of electricity.
On the contrary, some operators had decided not to change their prices, such as Electra, which maintained a rate of 0.44 euros per kWh until January 16. Since that date, the price per kWh has increased to 0.54 euros. Compare to $0.69 on Ionity or less than $0.40 on Tesla Superchargers.
Last small clarification: with home recharging, and taking into account the regulated electricity rate as of February 1, 2023 (0.2 euros per kWh), the cost per 100 km of an electric car is around 3.5 euros.
If you want to know the full prices of the Belib’ network, the operator has updated the price list on its website.
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