Charging infrastructure including or excluding power supply?

If the installation, management and maintenance of charging infrastructure is contracted out, the commissioning party may opt for the contractor to supply power as well.

In the case of public charging infrastructure, the contractor is almost always responsible for the energy supply. The commissioning party almost always imposes requirements on this energy, mainly regarding its renewable nature.

For this purpose, contractors negotiate a contract with an energy supplier (although sometimes the contractors themselves are also energy suppliers). At the recharging stations, therefore, EV drivers always use energy from the supplier contracted by the contractor. There are also pilots taking place where EV drivers can choose the energy supplier. There is more on this under add-on 2, ‘Smart charging and energy services’.

Many market operators that are involved in operating recharging stations also include energy provision as part of their revenue model. If the energy supply is covered by a separate contract, it is necessary to ensure that there is an adequate revenue model to operate the charging infrastructure.

Semi-public charging infrastructure is often connected to an existing electrical installation and grid connection, with an existing energy contract. The energy supplied to the charging infrastructure therefore comes via that contract. This electricity is paid for by the contract holder – often the manager of an existing building. In this instance, a financial settlement between the contractor and the holder of the existing energy contract is necessary.

The commissioning party may also choose for the contractor to supply the energy itself and therefore enter into a contract of its own. This can be done by creating a new grid connection. However, this is not always possible, as grid operators do not allow more than one grid connection per location. The creation of a separate grid connection also entails costs.

The supply of energy under a separate contract but via the existing grid connection is also possible, using a ‘second supply point’. This can be requested from the grid operator (known as ‘multiple energy suppliers via a single connection’, or MELOEA as per its Dutch acronym).?

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