German Utility Locks Out Non-Resident Customers From Using Public EV Charging Stations
Belgian Tesla driver Hubert Savelberg, who travels a lot in Germany for work, had a curious encounter. An attempt to use a German utility’s (EnBW) publicly accessible charging station network failed. Hubert Savelberg ordered a customer card from EnBW on December 8, 2021, for which he also paid €9.90. But it never arrived. When he inquired with EnBW, he received this reply:
Hello Mr. Savelberg,
Thank you for your message.
I have credited the 9.90 euro. The credit will be made to the original payment method. I have blocked the customer account because you have a residence outside Germany, Austria or Switzerland.
EnBW gave the reason for refusing the service as residence. The public charging stations were only intended for customers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. EnBW accepted the Belgian credit card as a means of payment without difficulty. After this correspondence, €9.90 was credited back to him.
The legitimate question Savelberg has is to what extent such a business practice is supposed to advance electromobility and whether it even stands up to EU law. Gas stations in Germany are also not restricted to allow only vehicles with German license plates to refuel. Nor should restaurants or hotels only allow people who live in the DACH region to dine and stay overnight.
Also, EnBW does not give Savelberg any information on how else to use the charging station network. Can he use it by becoming a member of a Belgian charging station provider? Also,
Another question that comes to mind is why the charging card is not digital, but has to be physically sent as a plastic card?
EnBW’s plastic(!) EV charging card
Here again the correspondence:
This article was also published in German.