During Easter, queues of electric cars have been seen in Spain waiting up to two hours to charge, widely shared on social networks. Is the network of fast charging points in Spain prepared for the big trips of the year? Industry experts explain that this was a specific problem with the Tesla superchargers at two stations in Cuenca and Albacete, the ones preferred by the brand's drivers, while the rest of the operators - to whom they could also go - have not had incidents. In any case, the number of 100% electric passenger cars continues to increase – there are already 175,000, according to the DGT – which requires that the charging infrastructure continue to evolve: the signage of the charging points needs to be improved, and those that are broken must be reported. (which does not always happen) and expedite the procedures to install new chargers as soon as possible.
“There has not been a collapse, but rather poor planning on the part of some electric vehicle users in an operation returning from a vacation who insisted on going to recharge at two specific stations that were saturated. On the other hand, there were several high-power charging stations nearby and along the A-3 that did not have saturation problems,” says Arturo Pérez de Lucia, general director of Aedive, the electric mobility association. In his opinion, the current network is “more than sufficient” for all trips, as demonstrated by the fact that the more than 30,000 public access points in operation are used only 6% of the time, far from saturation. Although it can happen at some specific times of the year, as with gas stations, that there are queues and saturation.
Queues also of up to 2 hours at the Tesla superchargers on the Valencia highway.
For a 350km journey. pic.twitter.com/WztOi99aJi
— DeusVult (@DeusVul94229466) April 3, 2024
Why do drivers drive to overcrowded chargers? “The Tesla user prefers to use their own system, because it is the most comfortable, and in general it works very well. Furthermore, vehicles plan routes taking into account only the chargers of their brand,” responds Álvaro Sauras, vice president of the Association of Electric Vehicle Users (AUVE) and director of the magazine
Autofácil
.
"In this case several circumstances have come together, the Atalaya de Cañavate station (Cuenca) had 10 charging posts, but five did not work, and they are also the oldest chargers of the brand, which charge at 150 kW, but distribute the Charges on both poles at 75 kW if two vehicles are plugged in. The new ones already charge at 250 or 300 kW,” he adds. In addition, these refuelings are cheaper for users of the brand, sometimes even free. A company spokesperson declines to comment on the waits these days, which she considers a specific problem. The company plans to install several more superchargers this year.
Xavier Cañadell, co-founder of Electromaps (an application that brings together the charging points of all brands), agrees: “It has only happened with Tesla superchargers, which are always used by drivers from those vehicles, and are also open to other brands. If you look at those specific points, other Iberdrola, Endesa or Zunder shippers did not have 100% occupancy, nor did you have to queue.” Sources from these companies confirm that their facilities have carried out more recharges than in the same period last year (25% to 40% more) but they have not suffered waits of more than 15 minutes.
Map of Tesla superchargers in Spain.
Álex O., who drives a Tesla Model 3, explains that he experienced a similar situation last Sunday, March 17: “I was traveling with my car from Asturias to Madrid and, as always, I relied on the
Tesla
app
to recharge in the car. Tesla supercharger in Burgos (at kilometer 235 of the A-1), but when I arrived I saw that there were several cars waiting. Then I opened Electromaps and saw that just a kilometer later there was another fast charger from another brand with 180 kW. So I went and charged there.” And he continues: “What happens to many Tesla users is that they prefer to charge only in the brand's superchargers, which are very convenient, and not install other charging applications, because it is usually a cumbersome process, although once done it is not "They usually have problems."
Aspects to improve
Félix García, spokesperson for Anfac – the automobile association – agrees that this is a specific problem, but he does believe that several aspects must be improved: “It is important that the road be marked where there are charging points, as it already does. Portugal. And there should be an interactive map to show where the chargers are, how powerful they are, and whether they work. The charging infrastructure must provide certainty, and it does not always do so.” Regarding the first, the DGT presented a new traffic sign in 2022 to indicate these places, but its installation will be gradual, as the signs are renewed. Regarding the second issue, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition plans to create this map, but it is two years late. García asks users to plan their trips better, and companies to better report broken points.
The public access fast charging infrastructure (from 50 to 250 kW) in Spain grew by 95% last year, going from 984 points to 1,923. Meanwhile, ultra-fast (with more than 250 kW) increased by 90%, from 309 to 587 locations. This type of refueling is essential for trips, as it allows you to charge the car in times ranging from 15 to 30 minutes. However, there is still a lot of room for improvement: according to a recent analysis by EL PAÍS using data from the end of the year, only 6% of the country's chargers exceed 150 kW.
The Minister for the Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, referred to this matter this Thursday in an interview on RNE: “Spain has joined electric mobility late. Until June 2018, Rajoy's Government was betting on gas cars. [...] Since then, it has become clear that the automobile industry, so important for the country, feels that the Government accompanies them in the transformation [towards electric mobility].” However, “sometimes mismatches occur. What we have seen this Easter is something specific, concentrated on a brand [in reference to Tesla] that has a type of ultra-fast charging points and that is the reference used by the owners of those vehicles. In general, that is not the case, and there are charging points that allow you to schedule the trip and have peace of mind, but it is obvious that we must continue to improve in this, in the extension of charging points in the national geography.
Íñigo Trasmonte, spokesperson for the Chinese electrical brand BYD in Spain, agrees: “In Spain, there are enough chargers for the current electrical park, because they are unused 95% of the time, but we have to have more for the future, and they must be easier to use. What happened at Easter can happen again if these exceptional circumstances occur again, that is, many drivers go to the same point knowing that there is a queue. What we have to do is not all go to the same thing.”
Pictogram of the signaling of charging points on the roads. From the left, fuel pump and electric recharging station, and on the right, electric recharging station.DGT
Installation companies ask to facilitate the installation of new points. “There is a lack of ultra-fast charging points on the main roads, but that requires more agility in the processing, because now it is taking two years to receive the permits,” says Manuel Muñoz, from Endesa, a company that has 5,600 points, 40%. fast or ultrafast. “Iberdrola already has 6,500 operational points and another 5,000 in the construction and processing phase, but we need to speed up the licenses so that they do not take so long,” says Jorge Muñoz, from Iberdrola.
Zunder, which has 600 points in southern Europe and wants to open another 4,000, points out that in its brand anyone can charge with a credit card, without installing any
app.
In fact, since last April 1, it has been mandatory to install POS (dataphones to pay by card) in the new points of more than 50 kW, which would not be necessary to download any application and will improve access for all users, although Once installed, they still have time to adapt.
Sauras, from AUVE, summarizes: “We cannot ignore that this has happened and that it can happen again on bridges or times of the year with a lot of traffic. More fast and ultra-fast charging points are needed, which are the ones most requested by users. In France, there are four times as many chargers of this type and they do not usually have these problems.”
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