Why the price at a gas station is much clearer than at a charging station
Price at charging station
The National Charging Infrastructure Knowledge Platform (NKL) examined price transparency at public charging stations in the Netherlands. What seems? It is failing in many places. In 2023, the price of electricity at a charging station was still correct in 60 percent of cases, but by 2025 that will have dropped to 50 percent. And for one in five charging sessions, the electricity price was not at all clear beforehand. At a gas station, that would be unthinkable.
Lack of communication
A major pain point is the way price information is offered. Whereas consumers at a gas station can clearly see the price in advance, EV drivers have to look it up themselves through an app or website. So the responsibility lies with the user instead of the provider. This is quite special, because in other sectors it is a legal requirement to actively communicate prices in advance – something that does not happen enough in the charging industry.
Solutions are at hand
The good news: according to the Electric Riders Association(VER), many of the problems mentioned are relatively easy to solve, without requiring large investments in new hardware. Possible improvements include:
- Automatically display the current rate at the start of charging
- Sending users a reminder during prolonged charging sessions
- Actively inform about price changes at a charging location
In addition, the VER advocates the introduction of so-called tariff sealing: digitally recording a charging rate at the start of a charging session. That way you can easily check afterwards whether the amount on your bill is correct with the tariff that applied at the time.
Role for governments and market participants
The study also shows that charge points installed through concession models – where municipalities make clear agreements with providers – score significantly better on transparency. Municipalities that set strict requirements for price communication in tenders result in fewer complaints and more clarity for users.
There are also market players who show that things can be done differently. They consciously invest in clear price communication and therefore score better – and have happier customers.
The Price Transparency Working Group within the National Charging Infrastructure Agenda (NAL) is working with market participants on minimum requirements for price transparency. The goal: a standard where every user has insight into the cost of a charging session at any time – before, during and after charging.
Also read: Summer vacations 2025: these countries have lots of charging stations – and almost none in this one
See also: What’s the difference between AC and DC charging? EVXplainers – AutoRAI TV