[IPE4] E-charging goals and challenges in Slovenia

Jurij Curk from Elektro Ljubljana presented the experience of the Ljubljana Electricity Distribution with the billing of electric vehicle e-charging, during the mid-term Interregional e-MOPOLI Public Event in Bled, June 12th 2019. Since 2010, when the first e-charging station was installed in Ljubljana, Elektro Ljubljana has recorded 90,000 e-charging - free of charge. In the first half of May 2019, the country's largest electricity distributor introduced a service of e-charging for electric vehicles upon payment. 

According to Elektro Ljubljana, e-charging stations are associated with high costs. Only in 2018, more than 74,000 euros were spent on electricity and maintenance of e-charging stations and software, and it was decided to start billing this e-charging improved service. "We have done pioneering work in the field of e-mobility. It would be hard to find a company that has done so much to promote its development. We must be aware, however, that the construction, maintenance and use of e-charging stations are linked to high costs that we have taken upon us as a part of our responsibility to the environment within ten years" was quoted president of the board of Elektro Ljubljana mag. Andrej Ribič.

The price list according to Curk's words reflects the actual costs of each recharging and the price includes fixed costs associated with the e-charging station. E-charging at the e-charging stations of Elektro Ljubljana costs from 0.01 to 0.09 euros per minute, depending on the power of charging, the fee is 1 euro for one-time users and 0.50 euros for prepaid customers. "To make it easier: if you were charging at home for 100 km, it would cost 1.5-2 euros, and at the e-charging stations "Gremonaelektriko (Go to electricity)", according to this price list, the service costs 2-2.5 euros" said Jurij Curk.

As he showed at the e-MOPOLI event, in the last year, the use of electricity for the purpose of e-charging vehicles has more than doubled. In addition, electricity consumption in Ljubljana is expected to continue to increase - not only because of rising electromobility, but also due to the increasing use of heat pumps. In the next three decades, electricity consumption would increase by 8 TWh, of which half would be contributed by traffic. Thus, in the electricity distribution, they warn that in the near future, as much as 40% of additional distribution capacities will be needed.

"Although we have a fully open energy market, I am afraid that renewable sources, which are also increasing, will not contribute sufficiently to the stability of an increasingly burdensome network" said Juri Curk, adding that "e-charging is the sale of services and not selling energy". On the other hand, after a month and a half after the introduction of a payment model for e-charging in Elektro Ljubljana, they have very good experience with this step, as 160 new users were registered in the first month and the majority of their clients decided for a prepaid model.

Participants of the e-MOPOLI event heard (and also tested) about the benefits of using electric bikes and the possibilities of car sharing offered by Avant car Avant2Go company, whose director Matej Cher said last year: "I believe that in 10 years, the world will change greatly, in terms of car ownership. I do not know if this will be a system for sharing electric cars, but it is certainly a fact that we move from equity to the economy of division". Ironically for Slovenia as an ex socialist republic of Yugoslavia, this idea of car sharing is an old one.