ESB eCars pricing introduction

Black_Knight

Northumberland wrote: »

ESB did call back to say that it would be 'up and running' this afternoon, and to keep checking the website. Not desparate, but I depend on those fast chargers living 140km from Dublin and doing the commute often and depending on finding a working fast charger.

Use ZapMap app. It'll tell you the current status of chargers.

Out of curiosity, you're saying your commute is a 280km round trip, and your car cannot cover that distance without charging on the public network?

Jeditraining1

Lets face it the ESB are a disaster and at the end of the day their lazy over pricing will make the network untenable and possibly unsellable (CRU decision). It doesn't matter which way you look at it the charges per KW are hugely exorbitant it doesnt matter if you need the charger for only a few minutes or a few hours, a rip off is a rip off.

Silent Running

Jeditraining1 wrote: »

Lets face it the ESB are a disaster and at the end of the day their lazy over pricing will make the network untenable and possibly unsellable (CRU decision). It doesn't matter which way you look at it the charges per KW are hugely exorbitant it doesnt matter if you need the charger for only a few minutes or a few hours, a rip off is a rip off.

I don't think the kW charges are a rip off. I'm used to paying up to 40p sterling on uk trips. I think 33c is quite good.

Black_Knight

Jeditraining1 wrote: »

Lets face it the ESB are a disaster and at the end of the day their lazy over pricing will make the network untenable and possibly unsellable (CRU decision). It doesn't matter which way you look at it the charges per KW are hugely exorbitant it doesnt matter if you need the charger for only a few minutes or a few hours, a rip off is a rip off.

Who's offering DC charging in Ireland at a cheaper rate?

There are a couple of free DC charging stations (1 applegreen, 1 or maybe 2 circleK). Other than that, it's Ionity and EasyGo. Ionity is €8 flat rate, or 40cent if using maingau card. EasyGo is (as best I can understand) 28cent/minute. ECars 50kW chargers provide about 45kW/h at peak (from my experience) which works out around 25cent/minute at this speed, so they're cheaper than EasyGo. Do you rely on their chargers so heavily that it's going to impact you that much?

I'll save my disappointment for when their "ultra fast chargers" come out, and they continue to charge 33cent for what at that stage will be a "slow" fast charger (50kW), while charging much more for what at that stage should be the standard speed charger (175kW)

Northumberland

Yes, that is what I am saying. Dont get me wrong, this is not a daily commute, but most weekends and sometimes in between. Nissan Leaf 40kW , 220kW, perhaps 230kW in summer, less in winter, combo of temp, wipers, heater etc. If I was really careful, kept speed very close to 100km I could get from Belturbet to Blanchardstown Centre (fast charger) and back, just about, with warning signs flashing. But I do not just go to Blanchardstown, right in to Dublin centre, and that would make a return impossible.

unkel

Jeditraining1 wrote: »

the charges per KW are hugely exorbitant it doesnt matter if you need the charger for only a few minutes or a few hours, a rip off is a rip off.

Hardly a rip off compared to fast charging rates. Two of the biggest commercial networks in the EU: Ionity charges 35c-40c and Fastned charges 59c (if you're not a subscriber)

The 33c for the ESB (if you're not a subscriber) is cheap. Not a rip off. In fact I wish they had doubled that rate plus a hefty per minute charge too.

Black_Knight

unkel wrote: »

Hardly a rip off compared to fast charging rates. Two of the biggest commercial networks in the EU: Ionity charges 35c-40c and Fastned charges 59c (if you're not a subscriber)

The 33c for the ESB (if you're not a subscriber) is cheap. Not a rip off. In fact I wish they had doubled that rate plus a hefty per minute charge too.

You've lost me there unkel. 66c/kWh for what is in your own words "2009 technology" chargers, and what would pretty much bring it to or above some ICE cars fuel costs.

Happy enough with 33c/kWh. It's grand value, and hopefully means the "ultra fast chargers" would come in around 40c/kWh. Hard to justify much more given the size of the country (never too far from your destination) and the cost of domestic electricity.

KCross

Jeditraining1 wrote: »

Lets face it the ESB are a disaster .... It doesn't matter which way you look at it the charges per KW are hugely exorbitant it doesnt matter if you need the charger for only a few minutes or a few hours, a rip off is a rip off.

What would be a fair price in your eyes?.... a little above domestic electricity rates?!!

The infrastructure and backend software and people to monitor it costs millions per year on top of the price of the electricity. How do you propose that it will wash its own face, not to mind make a profit if they charge less than what they have proposed. I think you need to rethink.

KCross

unkel wrote: »

In fact I wish they had doubled that rate plus a hefty per minute charge too.

I dont think I'd support a doubling of the charge but the per minute charge would be welcome as an incentive to get people to move off it as soon as they can (when the car starts throttling or they have enough to get home).


What also confuses me is ESB's monthly fee structure. It makes no sense really as there is very little difference in the kWh figure to incentivise you to go for the membership.

They should really have a much wider gap between membership and PAYG. If you only occasionally need the network then you pay a much higher fee and then for those who need the network regularly they pay the sub and get a much reduced fee. They practically made them the same. I dont get it. Maybe the plan is to get people used to the current fee structure and then bump the 33c figure and leave the 29c figure.

Northumberland

So, they are going to make the subscriber pay per kWH of electricity used by the car, is that right? So, I pay the same if I stay 40 mins and take 20kWh or if I park for 10 hours and take the same 20kW blocking other users that want the fast charger and get free parking as well. ESB seem to deliberately place the fast chargers in places that nobody would want to stay for 10 hours, although I have found (confessions here) that it is often cheaper to park on a slightly out of town charger (usually slow) and take a FreeNow in to where I want to go, compared to charging, waiting, then driving in to city centre and paying the earth for charging. ESB sent around a questionnaire earlier this year asking if users thought there should be a penalty for 'overstaying', I responded that there should be (being based far from Dublin - the only fast chargers that I routinely use being close to Dublin or Navan. I guess they decided that an overstay charge was not practical - it is used in England.

KCross

Northumberland wrote: »

So, they are going to make the subscriber pay per kWH of electricity used by the car, is that right? So, I pay the same if I stay 40 mins and take 20kWh or if I park for 10 hours and take the same 20kW blocking other users that want the fast charger and get free parking as well. ESB seem to deliberately place the fast chargers in places that nobody would want to stay for 10 hours, although I have found (confessions here) that it is often cheaper to park on a slightly out of town charger (usually slow) and take a FreeNow in to where I want to go, compared to charging, waiting, then driving in to city centre and paying the earth for charging. ESB sent around a questionnaire earlier this year asking if users thought there should be a penalty for 'overstaying', I responded that there should be (being based far from Dublin - the only fast chargers that I routinely use being close to Dublin or Navan. I guess they decided that an overstay charge was not practical - it is used in England.

Are you referring to slow AC charging there?

AC is going to be free for a while yet.
DC charging is per kWh and an overstay fee will be charged after 45mins... €5 apparently. Not sure how that will be administered if the car is not actively charging.

Northumberland

Yes, slow charging. Oh, I missed the reference to the overstay charge - I think that is good. But the present fast chargers (at least the ones that I have used) unlock the plug that plugs in to the car when the car is fully charged and the charger turns off. So another car owner could take out the plug and plug in to his or her car on to the same charger and start charging again IF they can get the car physically close enough. But that IF is a big IF, in their negotiations with the owners of the parking areas, Circle K, Blanchardstown, Dublin Airport etc, ESB acquire the absolute minimum amount of space to just allow one car, if that, to plug in to each available charging port, so it is rarely possible to get a second car close enough to use the charging plug which had become available. I am sure it would be more cost-effective to have two parking spaces for each fast charger, even if it can only charge one car at a time.

KCross

Northumberland wrote: »

I am sure it would be more cost-effective to have two parking spaces for each fast charger, even if it can only charge one car at a time.

They appear to have done just that for the new chargers on the M9
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=111607712&postcount=11

Calahonda52

KCross wrote: »

They appear to have done just that for the new chargers on the M9
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=111607712&postcount=11

Looks like 3 spaces for 2 chargers

drunkmonkey

What's with the Milton Keynes alloys on the BMW....does it identify as a VW?

McGiver

Jeditraining1 wrote:

Lets face it the ESB are a disaster and at the end of the day their lazy over pricing will make the network untenable and possibly unsellable (CRU decision). It doesn't matter which way you look at it the charges per KW are hugely exorbitant it doesnt matter if you need the charger for only a few minutes or a few hours, a rip off is a rip off.

In fact, the prices are subsided. Fastened in the Netherlands charges €0.58, UK operators charge €0.45+.

I'd accuse them of dumping/undercutting rather than rip-off. Now, of course it will still be a rip-off if they don't provide proper maintenance and service, but that's a different thing.

unkel

+1

Fastned and Ionity have paid for their charging networks themselves. In Ireland, the tax payer paid for the ESB charging network. If you think of it like that, the Irish system could well be illegal.

ewj1978

Eu funded no?

jarrieta

Still cannot register... And nothing in the page indicating when it will open apart from "since 29th October'

irishgrover

Right lads and Ladies, registration is open.
I honestly did not realise what a great deal this was. However I was on their site, going to sign up and saw this absolute gem of a savings...this has pushed me firmly back into the camp of an ESB fan.... why did did not put this in the press release I don't know!
When you sign up you get "Free ESB charge point access card worth €10"..... holy sh!t on a stick, becuse they love us so much there are not going to charge us €10 for a piece of plastic worth €0.50 ..... gob****es! Note however that they will charge an additional €10 it you want an additional piece of plastic worth €0.50c .

Gwen Cooper

irishgrover wrote: »

Right lads and Ladies, registration is open.
I honestly did not realise what a great deal this was. However I was on their site, going to sign up and saw this absolute gem of a savings...this has pushed me firmly back into the camp of an ESB fan.... why did did not put this in the press release I don't know!
When you sign up you get "Free ESB charge point access card worth €10"..... holy sh!t on a stick, becuse they love us so much there are not going to charge us €10 for a piece of plastic worth €0.50 ..... gob****es! Note however that they will charge an additional €10 it you want an additional piece of plastic worth €0.50c .

where are you seeing that? the website still takes me to the old registration form and it says that registrations open at 2pm today?

unkel

I clicked on the sign up button for the pay as you go option just a few seconds ago and got sent to an empty web page displaying this error:

"Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) Filter: CORS origin denied"

DrPhilG

Latest...

DesperateDan

unkel wrote: »

I clicked on the sign up button for the pay as you go option just a few seconds ago and got sent to an empty web page displaying this error:

"Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) Filter: CORS origin denied"

I really am expecting this to be a **** show for a couple of weeks at least

zg3409

jarrieta wrote: »

Still cannot register... And nothing in the page indicating when it will open apart from "since 29th October'

Says 2pm today latest news

Silent Running

Yeah, I won't be pressing F5 every few seconds. Let me know when the server has fallen over and has been reset. :D

innrain

Here is the new layout for the chargers map


https://myaccount.esbecars.com/findCharger?

When you click on a charger it shows you a bar chart of peak charging times. Interesting

BigAl81

innrain wrote:

When you click on a charger it shows you a bar chart of peak charging times. Interesting

That's really cool! Will be interesting to see how that changes when charging comes in for the Rapids!

innrain

Also on the footer of this page https://myaccount.esbecars.com/login I can see that they outsource the charging management to driivz

Interesting

Petetheroadie

Just signed up there and it worked for me.

liamog

https://myaccount.esbecars.com/signUp

Link incase you can't find it

Mickeroo

Do you have to sign up again from scratch or can you use your existing account?

liamog

Mickeroo wrote: »

Do you have to sign up again from scratch or can you use your existing account?

You have to sign up again but can re use your existing card

Mickeroo

Cheers, signed up without any issues there. New map looks good, big improvement on the previous one.

innrain

Yes. You can see when the session started which is a big plus for FCPs

Stealthirl

Tried to do it but got

Error: 501
Message: This transaction (Order#) has already been processed! If you feel this is incorrect please contact the merchant!

Villain

I have an old ecars charging card but it doesn't have a number on it? Any got any ideas?

Kramer

Super-hubs a comin'!

superhubs-revealed-as-ev-hoggers-face-5-fine-38644247.html

charlieIRL

innrain wrote: »

Yes. You can see when the session started which is a big plus for FCPs

There’s something charging in Tullamore was since 9:51am this morning. Another one is in use since 11am.
The sooner the overstay fee comes in for slower chargers the better.

charlieIRL

I also see on the legend a “Reserved” symbol. Imagine staring off on your trip and having a FCP booked so you know it will be free when you got to it and not have to que? Brilliant idea.

Mickeroo

charlieIRL wrote: »

I also see on the legend a “Reserved” symbol. Imagine staring off on your trip and having a FCP booked so you know it will be free when you got to it and not have to que? Brilliant idea.

You can already do that in the Easygo 50kw chargers as far as I know.

DrPhilG

Villain wrote: »

I have an old ecars charging card but it doesn't have a number on it? Any got any ideas?

I was thinking the same.

How many digits is the number from your current card supposed to be?

I think part of mine is worn off and it won't let me register.

Sabre Man

charlieIRL wrote: »

I also see on the legend a “Reserved” symbol. Imagine staring off on your trip and having a FCP booked so you know it will be free when you got to it and not have to que? Brilliant idea.

What happens if you're stuck in traffic and get there 5, 10 or 30 minutes late, or worse? Can someone else use the charger in that case?

DrPhilG

charlieIRL wrote: »

I also see on the legend a “Reserved” symbol. Imagine staring off on your trip and having a FCP booked so you know it will be free when you got to it and not have to que? Brilliant idea.

I think it's an awful idea personally.

So I have a charger reserved for 3pm.

You turn up at 2:50 and what happens? Does it not let you start, or are you restricted to 10 minutes and then it kicks you off? Guaranteed to be heated arguments at chargers in that case.

And what if I'm 10 minutes late? You're sat there for 20 minutes locked out or restricted while I stroll up late?

Completely unnecessary. First come first served, overstay fee to prevent pi$$ taking.

KCross

We dont reserve petrol pumps, no need to reserve FCP's either.... just put in enough of them!

BobbyBingo

DrPhilG wrote: »

How many digits is the number from your current card supposed to be?

Mine has 8 digits starting 793

adunis

Well now,registration was utterly painless,20euro up front balance required for PAYG,auto top up at 5euro no monthly fee,sounds just like my tolltag .......

kennethsmyth

adunis wrote: »

Well now,registration was utterly painless,20euro up front balance required for PAYG,auto top up at 5euro no monthly fee,sounds just like my tolltag .......

Why cant pay as you go just use a normal bank card, in UK they are making this law. I shouldnt have to have a topup card.

Silent Running

There are two PAYG options. Prepay and Pay per charge through the app. I presume you attach a payment method to the app, like credit or debit card.

kennethsmyth

Silent Running wrote: »

There are two PAYG options. Prepay and Pay per charge through the app. I presume you attach a payment method to the app, like credit or debit card.

The ecar connect app is still the old one with only a map - no user / payment setup. So presently there is only one pay as you go options. Again why not just a straight bank card payment?