“Makes sense during the day”

Controversy over overnight parking fees for electric cars

A resident of Lower Austria was annoyed by high charging fees at night.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Klemens Groh, privat)

The electric car charges for hours—and parking fees are often charged as well. During the day, this makes perfect sense; at night, it becomes a challenge for car owners...

A man from Lower Austria was quite surprised when he saw the bill for charging his electric car. He was charged more than 150 euros—much of it not for the electricity itself, but for “parking.” His car, built in 2019, now charges much more slowly than newer models. “To get the battery fully charged, I have to charge for more than three hours,” reports Horst W. from Waidhofen an der Thaya.

While on vacation in Bad Hofgastein (Salzburg), he plugged his car into a charging station. As an EVN customer, he receives discounts in his home state of Lower Austria, but as soon as he crosses state lines, “roaming fees” and high parking fees appear on the bill.

With few public charging stations in town, companies charge parking fees so the stations become available again more quickly for other customers.(Bild: privat)

Not enough info at the station?
“There was no notice at the charging station indicating that a parking fee would be charged,” he says. However, since the station is not operated by EVN, Horst W. cannot receive a refund. In many places, frustration and confusion among electric car drivers are mounting more and more frequently in such cases. Georg Ecker, himself an electric car driver and energy spokesperson for the Green Party, now emphasizes: “Anyone who plugs in their electric car in the evening and charges it overnight is doing exactly the right thing: They’re using charging capacity when demand is low—and thereby sparing the grid.” While fees at public electric charging stations are reasonable during the day, they often force drivers to move their cars at night, rightly causing frustration. 

Blocking fees at public EV charging stations are a reasonable tool during the day. The situation is different at night.

Grüne NÖ Energiesprecher Georg Ecker 

Bild: Imre Antal

Higher fees are therefore unfair. The Greens are calling for a clearer legal framework here. “E-mobility only works if we bring people along with us and don’t scare them away with nonsensical fees.”