The flat rate has been around for a long time when making calls. Now comes electric car charging too.
The Berlin e-mobility provider Elvah wants to simplify the charging of electric cars with a flat rate tariff. Users pay a fixed amount per month and can then fill up as much electricity as they want at supporting stations. Anyone charging at non-participating pillars can send the bill to Elvah and should then receive the energy costs back if the prices are “customary in the market”.
The costs for the flat rate are graded according to vehicle class. Small car users - Elvah names the VW E-Up and Smart Fortwo as examples - pay 89 euros per month. For a Renault Zoe and comparable small car models, 129 euros are due, for a VW ID3 and other compact cars it is 169 euros. Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan fall into the highest class at 199 euros.
In addition to the “Flat-Abo”, Elvah offers a cheaper “Flex-Abo”. There, the amount of energy is initially limited to 50 kWh, whoever needs more is upgraded to one or more levels and then pays extra for it. Similar to some data tariffs for cell phones. In all vehicle segments, 25 euros are due in the first stage, the further costs are then based on the size of the car and battery.