The Government’s solution to prevent refueling an electric car from costing too much

Promised last October by the government and later shelved, the price shield for charging stations will be implemented well. An announcement made by the Ministry of Energy Transition, which will therefore benefit users of electric cars. But details are still scant.

For several months, the price of electricity has been at its highest point. In fact, the wholesale price has literally skyrocketed, going from 85 euros per MWh in 2021 to more than 1,000 euros in August 2022. A situation that is explained in particular by the war in Ukraine, as well as the closure of the nuclear reactors in the territory, managed by EDF. And this, of course, affects the French, and in particular the users of electric cars.

an expected measure

According to a report published by Enedis85% of drivers charge their electric or hybrid vehicle at home. In this case, the latter must face a strong rise in the price of electricity, fortunately limited by the price shield established by the government. Thus, the increase has been limited to 15% since February 1, after an increase of 4% in 2022. Specifically, this means that households pay an average of 20 euros more per month, instead of the 180 euros without this measure. We have done some calculations on our part to understand the impact of charging an electric car at home.

But the 15% shield only refers to the price of domestic electricity. Owners of electric cars that charge at express and public terminals are not affected. And there’s the cold shower. In fact, with rising energy prices, many operators have revised their prices higher. This is particularly the case for Bélib’, which literally exploded its prices at the beginning of January, with double billing per minute per kWh. Before retracing his steps a few days later before the clamor caused by the increase.

We are also thinking of Allego, which recently revised its pricing policy with the arrival of off-peak and peak hours. A strategy also adopted by Tesla in its Superchargers for a few months. Price evolution lacking transparency according to Senator Gilbert Roger from Seine-Saint-Denis. The latter recently questioned the government on the establishment of a tariff shieldthat would better regulate the price of cargo.

An idea that did not come out of nowhere, since this measure had been promised by Emmanuel Macron himself last October, during the World Cup in Paris. The President of the Republic then stated that “from January 2023 also extend the tariff shield to electrical terminals, to avoid adventures like some of our neighbors. Today, prices are still reasonable, we’ll make sure they stay that way.« .

Finally !

But since then, radio silence by the government. If the latter wishes encourage motorists to use electricity, having promised in particular the installation of 100,000 charging stations in the territory by the end of 2021, continues to lag behind on some issues. But that is changing, as the Delegate Minister of the Minister of Health and Prevention, Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, spoke during the session of January 24, 2023 in the Senate.

Again questioned by Gilbert Roger, he stated that ” developers and upload operators may, when eligible, benefit from the electricity buffer established at the end of 2022“. A small step forward, therefore, confirmed in Twitter by the Minister for Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, who welcomes this measure.

✅ Commitment fulfilled! From now on, all electric vehicle charging stations will benefit from the electricity tariff shield. pic.twitter.com/hmcPGRiJlb

— Agnès Pannier-Runacher 🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@AgnesRunacher) February 6, 2023

How does the electric damper work?

The Government has not given more details during this speech, so it could be thought that these aids will be the same as those that already exist for individuals. However, the government reminds that the recharging of electric vehicles open to the public is part of the competitive sector, whose rates are freely defined by the operators. These rates may depend on the distributed kilowatt-hours, but also on other factors, in particular the speed of the recharge. »

In detail, the Ministry of Ecology explains the operation of the electric gate on its website. Therefore, we can read that ” The State will cover, over 50% of the volumes of electricity consumed, the difference between the contract energy price and €180/MWh (that is, €0.18/kWh)”. In the example, the help goes to ” 20% of the total bill » of electricity paid by a company that would buy the electricity €400/MWh (€0.4/kWh).

The formula is a bit complex to understand at first glance, but what you have to remember is that it is not about regulating the price of cargo. But simply limit the increase in electricity so that it is less reflected in the final price that the customer pays.

Don’t expect drastic reductions or rates that come close to what you pay at home. It remains to be hoped that operators do not take advantage of this to increase their profits by keeping prices high despite this shield.

The government also wants to go a little further, as it is discussing with the European Union to establish a ” draft regulation on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure“. This would allow best prices of paintings and be able to compare them it is empty.

As of today, February 1, 2023, the regulated electricity rate has increased by 15%. What does this mean for charging your electric car? We did the calculations.
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