Are electric car charging stations free?

South Africa has one of the highest concentrations of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in relation to the number of EVs on the road of any country in the world. What does it cost you, as a consumer, to use this infrastructure, though?

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17 Jan 2023 · 14:37Buying a Car

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Electric vehicles are touted as a solution to both tailpipe emissions and excessive mobility costs, with many countries and automakers having committed to an all-electric future already. From a local perspective, the inflated price tag of EVs as a result of archaic government legislation, and the fact that an estimated 85% or 42 000 MW of the electricity produced in South Africa come from coal-fired power stations mean that EVs have some way to go before their purported plus points truly benefit local drivers. That being said, many of us would have seen electric vehicle chargers at a shopping centre or a filling station at some point and wondered what they would cost to use. Let's do some investigating!

How to charge an EV

Before we determine how much it is to use an electric car charging station, let's have a look at what you need in order to use the infrastructure. Firstly, those looking to use the public charging network will need to register on ActiveCharge, which is a part of GridCars, the largest provider of EMobility charging solutions currently operating in South Africa. Upon registering, the user will receive a card which can be topped up with funds and then used to activate a charging port at one of the public stations.

How much does it cost?

There are ways in which you can charge your EV at a public station, either with AC, or alternating current, which takes more time, or with DC or direct current which is significantly faster. The benefit of AC charging is that it is cheaper, at around R4.70 per kWh and it is better for the longevity of your vehicle's battery while DC will have your car charged quite a bit faster, but it costs more per kWh at around R5.77.

If we take an average battery pack of 80kWh and assume that the battery was charged from 0% to 100%, it would cost R376 to fully charge an EV with AC and R461.60 using DC. If you do not have time constraints and can charge the vehicle from a traditional wall plug, it would cost you just R2.79 per kWh which equates to R223.20 to fully charge your vehicle.