Could hidden network costs derail ultra-fast EV charging?

Plans for a network of ultra-fast electric vehicle chargers – the kind that could charge your vehicle in just 15 minutes – could be on hold because proponents have discovered that their business model may be threatened by a hidden network cost.

The problem is about the implementation of so-called “demand charges”, which are a different way of billing consumers – instead of only charging for the amount of electricity used, consumers are also charged according to the maximum amount of power they draw at any one time.

The idea of demand charges is not a controversial one, although its implantation has been – particularly when consumers are billed heavily for high demand use that occurs outside of peak demand. This practice – which hits Sunday morning tea parties at churches, for instance – are considered unfair.

Proponents of ultra-fast EV charging networks say they could also be unfairly penalised – because their heaviest use is also random and most likely outside of peak events.

Read the full story on RenewEconomy’s electric vehicle dedicated site, The Driven…

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