Hi, this is Thibaut. Today I’m going to write a post on the topic of comparing electric car charging rates. I use the Hyundai Ioniq 5 for long-distance driving, preferring it for its autonomous driving, convenience features, and low charging station fees.
However, I’d like to share a recent experience that made me think, “Maybe I’ve been charging too much.” The above story was recorded on October 31, 2024.
I used the Chaebyeon charging station at a service area in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province. It has a sleek design and intuitive display of current usage status at the top.
1. Basic usage
Basically, you can proceed sequentially through the front display.
340 won/kwh for members
460 KRW/kwh for non-members
*Please remember the above prices!
If you are a member, press Member, if you don’t have a separate account, Non-member will apply.
The price difference is 120 won, which is quite a lot, so naturally, you will apply for membership on the left or Chae Won membership and PnC membership.
If it’s a membership, you can tag the corresponding RF card.
Once authorized, you plug the connector into the EV and you’re done. Honestly, there’s not much procedural difference from any other EV charging station.
However, I did notice one oddity: the charge was significantly higher than the one described above: 485 won per unit.
Comparison of EV charging fees by membership and card
I clicked the membership button and recognized my RF card, but I didn’t understand the extra charge.
Normally, if it doesn’t work, it will say “Authentication failed” and you will be told that you used the wrong card and try another one.
However, the CHargeEV Membership and GS Charge fee were successfully authenticated.
I knew that third-party services would work to some extent, but I didn’t realize that charging EVs would be so expensive.
I haven’t checked other third-party charging stations yet, but if you’re a brand-agnostic person like me, you might be paying too much.
I also compared the car next to me, and it was a better car than mine.
In the end, I pressed stop fast charging and proceeded to sign up for Chaevi.
As a result, the cost of charging an electric car dropped to 340 won.
In other words, it is possible to use other third parties, and it may be charged more. My guess is that it includes non-member and third-party additional payment fees, similar to overseas payment card fees.
I think it’s mandatory for charging stations to warn consumers about using other company memberships. I think it’s necessary to guide consumers from spending incorrectly.
How to register for membership
In the end, on-site registration was mandatory to get the lowest price. Fortunately, I didn’t have to be a car owner to do it.
Click Sign up and then click
You can install and use the application by recognizing the camera QR code. I used the Naver Pay payment service to save money.
This concludes my review of charging stations for electric vehicles at Gwangju service areas. I hope everyone can use electric vehicles reasonably. If you have any additional questions, please comment. Thank you.