Allego charges HPC blocking fee from July

In Germany, this “overstay fee,” as Allego officially calls it, is 0.207 euros/minute net or 0.246 euros/minute gross with 19 per cent VAT. In Austria, the gross rate – based on the same net amount – is €0.248 per minute. Finland (with 24 per cent VAT) has the highest blocking charges of the EU countries at 0.257 euros/minute. In the comparisons with Norway, Sweden and Denmark, each with 25 per cent VAT, there is also the factor of the current exchange rate to the respective national currencies.

According to Allego, the fee is intended to “reduce waiting times for all EV vehicles and promote the effective use of our HPC chargers.”
The company says that “this fee ensures all EV drivers have fair and timely access to charging stations. With the rapid growth of the EV market and increasing demand for charging infrastructure, chargers must be used efficiently. The overstay fee aims to prevent prolonged charging sessions that occupy chargers longer than necessary, ensuring a more equitable distribution of resources.”

While other providers often charge blocking fees at DC stations after 60 minutes of charging, Allego has deliberately opted for 45 minutes. With a 70 kWh battery, a charging process from ten to 80 per cent takes around three-quarters of an hour at an average charging power of 65 kW. “This duration is a reasonable benchmark based on current EV vehicle capabilities,” Allego says. In other words, older electric cars, which may charge more slowly, may not have reached the 80 per cent State of Charge (SoC) before having to pay a blocking fees after 45 minutes. As always, however, these blocking fees only apply if one charges via Allego itself. If the charging process is started at an Allego charging point using another charging service, rates and conditions of that latter apply.

The costs per kilowatt hour will not change. In Germany, 73 cents per kilowatt hour have been charged at Allego’s DC charging stations since July 2023 (€0.613/kWh net). In Austria, it is also €0.73/kWh gross. In the Netherlands, it is €0.79/kWh, while in France, it is only €0.59/kWh, to name a few examples.

There is another unique aspect of the “overstay fee” in the Netherlands: Here, the fee of €0.25 is also charged at AC charging stations operated by Allego – however, not per minute, but per hour. It is supposed to persuade “long-term parkers” at charging stations to rethink their behaviour.

“Drivers using public chargers must share these spaces with other electric vehicle (EV) users and a growing complaint has been of chargers that are occupied well past the needed charge time,” says Allego. “In some cases this overstay is for a few hours and often can be for several days at a time. Other EV drivers are then displaced or forced to charge in less opportune moments. In collaboration with local municipalities and following inquiries from concerned drivers, Allego aims to tackle the issue by implementing an overstay fee.”

allego.eu