Federal Cartel Office: Too Little Competition at Charging Stations

The Federal Cartel Office has criticized the lack of competition in public charging stations for electric cars. Many municipalities have predominantly or even exclusively allocated areas to their own municipal utility or individual providers. “As a result, consumers have hardly any choice and the risk of higher charging electricity prices increases,” criticized the President of the Federal Cartel Office, Andreas Mundt. 

The price differences at the charging stations could indicate sporadically abusively high prices. In many local markets, there are only very few providers of charging electricity. “The concentration is so high there that dominant market positions arise,” said Mundt when presenting the final report on the marketing of public charging infrastructure. “Competition in the supply of charging electricity does not work properly in many places.” This would have been “actually avoidable with better framework conditions for area allocations.” 

Market-dominant providers often not only sell their own electricity but also allow drivers to charge who buy electricity from a service provider using a charging card. However, the price is set by the operator of the charging station. Locally dominant operators could set the price so high for competitors that they are driven out of the market, explain the competition watchdogs.