How are these new tariffs justified with a significant increase, yet another one every few months…?
Considering that:
- The cost of energy wholesale in recent months is increasingly diminished, collapsed compared to a few years ago.
- A2A economically it is undoubtedly an excellent moment, given the economic results and recent important acquisitions.
- The market of Electric mobility is increasing more and more: certainly low national percentages but foreign users who travel to Italy, especially in the summer periods, with undoubtedly higher percentages, increasingly present. Furthermore, new incentives are expected soon which are expected to significantly increase the electric/plug in market.
Following these considerations one comes to think of the “spectrum” of a sortcartel effect” among operators, taking into consideration the recent moves (from a few months ago until a few days ago) also of the other operators.
Yet A2A deserves applause…
The efforts of A2A in public charging investments (charging “city plug” among the most recent events), undoubtedly I am a applause but if all this has to be heavily borne by customers, it risks frustrating the electric car market, which has incredible potential for budgets, especially for you who don’t have interests (at least) direct in the oil market (unlike Eni or Q8 for example). CerI want to avoid thinking badly or accusing someone outright, I would sincerely like to share these considerations of mine and understand your position on the matter“. Luca Fatutti
Also Flavio Balasini “happy owner of an MG4 Luxury” suspicious “yet another attempt by energy suppliers to undermine electric mobility” and asks us: “Why do BeCharge, A2A and all the others apply these stifling policies? Do you have plausible explanations? It is clear that this being the case, whoever has to make the leap to electric mobility, doing the math, will most likely backtrack.”
Those columns that have been mounted for months and never activated. What’s behind it?
For Luigi Masucci it’s a “embarrassing cartel operation“ That “attentive and qualified observers should highlight”. In the end Arthura Tesla owner, notes that “the prices of top-ups on public charging stations are totally out of control”. And then seeing Bologna, where he lives “the installation of dozens of columns which have been assembled for months and months but they are not activated” deduces that “this matter has very dark sides“. “It seems clearly that the ecological transition is being opposed…”
The expensive kilowatts for charging stations come from afar: from the energy duopoly
Answer- There is an admittedly perverse logic to the high kilowatts of public charging. As we will see, this is the result of disorganized and poorly managed proliferation of columns. The result is there for all to see: the price of energy falls to the source, but not the charging rates. Which actually continue a creeping upward movement.
In the years preceding the 2021-2022 energy crisis, it was allowed that only two operatorsEnel X and Be Charge, developed their own nationwide charging networkseffectively becoming one monopolists with over 60% of the 54 thousand charging points installed in Italy.
In this first phase of wild boarding of the sites and at the installations both Enel Many ended up in isolated and absurd placeswhere to connect them, maintain them or repair them if faulty, costs much more than they can return with a average usage between 1 and 2% of potential time. Sometimes they would say it even forgotten.
They are mammoth networks, made with investments of hundreds of millions, but now partly obsolete, neglected and inefficient. So not very profitable. Investments planned to be amortized over ten years risk remain at a loss indefinitely.
When the least efficient make the market
The networks of the other charging bigs are more modern and on average more efficient. However, they are geographically limited (A2A in Lombardy, Duferco in Liguria, Neogy in Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto) or well distributed territorially but not very widespread, such as Ionity. No one can be on the market alone. The exceptions are networks of Tesla Supercharger And Autobrennero who, benefiting from a “closed” user base, can apply the most convenient rates.
For the two monopolist networks, present throughout the territory, theinteroperability (or roaming) is a optional: with just two Apps every motorist could travel at will throughout Italy.
For for other operators it is an obligation if they want to guarantee medium and long-range mobility to their customers. This disparity has repercussions on roaming contracts between different operators. Will always be the first to impose their conditions. And they will do so based on their profitability targets and their costs, which we have seen are the highest.
On the cost structurethe raw material power they system charges put together they affect about a third. Prices are set by the public regulator Arera, and are the same for everyone. What’s more, they are variable costs: if the refills sold are zero, these two items are also zero.
The another two thirds concern amortization of investments And structural expenses (staff, software, telecommunications, assistance, maintenance). I am fixed costs. Costs that each operator must bear regardless of how many kWh they will supply. And I’m the ball and chain of all operators, but especially of the two big ones. A ballast that sinks the charging business in an Italian market that grew up without direction.
What’s new in 2023? Men and strategies
Both Enel and Eni (now owner of Be Charge) would have sufficiently robust shoulders to withstand losses for a long time of the respective charging networks. And they did so until the beginning of 2023, also absorbing the surge in energy prices after the crisis in Ukraine. But with the change of management in the two companies, both under public control, the strategic priorities have changed. Previously, one of the priorities was to support the spread of electric mobility. Today the mandate is maximize profits.
While waiting for the number of electric vehicles in circulation to increase and consequently the average number of recharges per column installed, we have thus chosen to “wring out” those who already have an electric car bought and currently has no alternatives.
He will have the alternative when he arrives a third wheel, leaner and more efficient, capable of competing with Enel X and Be Charge throughout the national territory. It could be the development of bottom-up projects, such as ART And Shemm Iscat-Thor. Or ajoint initiative of second-tier operators, where each one pools the protection of its own territory.
