A charging station allows you to charge up to 10x faster compared to a regular wall socket. Moreover, the additional safety components in Pluginvest's charging stations ensure that charging is always safe and that even the standard leakage current protections in your home (differential) continue to work correctly. 

A charging station also offers the possibility to measure your energy consumption separately and possibly charge it to your employer. Pluginvest's smart charging stations can also control the power of charging according to the consumption of your home or production of your solar panels. None of this is possible through an ordinary power outlet. Frequent use of this type of chargers is therefore discouraged by most car manufacturers and in international standards.

The rate for the electricity you consume through a charging station depends on the type of charging station, the Charge Point Operator (CPO) and the Mobility Service Provider (MSP).

Type of charging points:

1. Public charging stations: here the CPO determines the tariff. On average, this is €0.40/kWh (incl. VAT) in Belgium.

2. Semi-public charging stations: for charging stations connected to a building grid connection, the rate is usually determined by the customer and owner of the charging station. At Pluginvest, they themselves determine the tariff for the end customer. On average, this is €0.20-€0.40/kWh (incl. VAT) in Belgium.

3. Private charging station as a private person: no costs are charged here. The additional electricity consumption is included in your electricity bill from your energy supplier and you pay the energy rate according to your contract. On average, this is €0.26/kWh (incl. VAT) in Belgium.

4. Private charging station as an employee: you pay for the additional electricity consumption as an employee/private via your energy supplier. Pluginvest can reimburse these costs to you as an employee through your employer as an expense allowance. The average electricity rate in Belgium is used for this, which is revised annually.

For public and semi-public charging stations, the rates are sometimes increased by a margin applied to these rates by the CPO and/or MSP. A margin of 10% is not unusual in the sector. Pluginvest hereby applies transparent pricing without an additional margin on the rates set by its customers or partner networks. In this way, we keep the tariff for the end user low and accelerate the transition to electric mobility.

The electric mobility market consists of several parties. There is the Charge Point Operator (CPO) and the Mobility Service Provider (MSP). The CPO provides the supply of the charge points, installation and maintenance of the charge points. The MSP sells mobility products and services through the charging card or token. In most cases, this is a subscription to charging, the associated charging card and/or app and payment for your charging sessions.

Pluginvest operates both as a CPO and MSP.

At Pluginvest, charging rates are always determined by the owner or customer of the charging station. The customer determines these in function of his own electricity rate, the market prices for semi-public or public charging and his investment in the charging infrastructure. As a customer, you have a free choice in this regard. Pluginvest does recommend keeping these rates low in order to accelerate the transition to electric mobility and to offer as many people as possible the opportunity to come and charge with you. The market price for semi-public charging averages €0.40/kWh (incl. VAT).

Despite high electricity and oil prices, electric cars are still cheaper to “refuel” than their traditional counterparts. Electricity rates in Belgium vary widely from location to location. Private individuals pay about €0.26/kWh. Companies with a medium-voltage connection pay about €0.12/kWh. Public charging stations charge an average rate of €0.40/kWh.

Calculation example:

Let's take an example of an electric car with an empty battery and 12 kWh of power. In most cases, this car will be able to drive between 60 and 80 km on one charge. In this case, charging at home will cost 12 x 0.26 = €3.12. This means that the power consumption per km is only €0.03 to €0.04. At companies it will be (a lot) cheaper, public charging is more expensive.