Public charge point operator (CPO) SAEV Charge has commenced the first phase of its network expansion in South Africa, which aims to roll out 400 charging stations over the next four years.
The company’s first public direct current (DC) charging station is located in Richmond, Cape Town, in the parking lot of the SolarMD factory, one of South Africa’s largest lithium battery assembly facilities.
It boasts two charging piles, each with two DC connectors supporting a maximum charging speed of up to 120kW. There is also a backup 22kW AC charger.
While it was launched several years ago, the site has recently drawn more attention in the EV driver community for its low per-kWh rate of R3.49 and a reduced dynamic pricing fee of R2.49 per kWh.
The lower tariff applies when the state-of-charge of a large 2.25MWh containerised battery energy storage system (BESS) supplying the property is above 90%.
The BESS gets much of its power from a 1MW solar power system on the SolarMD factory’s roof, which enables the battery assembler to run almost entirely off-grid.
The rate is significantly lower than the R3.56 per kWh that Eskom currently charges on its Homepower 4 plan, the most common for home users connected directly to its distribution network.
Public CPOs typically have to add substantial margins to their charging fees to recover the cost of the chargers and their installation.
Private properties rarely buy the chargers themselves. Instead, they provide the CPO with parking bays in exchange for revenue from charging sessions.
In 2026, a kWh of energy from GridCars, the largest CPO in South Africa, typically costs R7.35 per kWh when using DC charging and R5.88 per kWh when using AC charging.
At that DC charging rate, the energy cost of an EV is only marginally cheaper than a comparable petrol car’s refuelling costs.
In most instances, drivers should charge as much as possible at home, which will give them running costs per kilometre of around a quarter of that of a comparable petrol vehicle.
SAEV’s low prices could make a strong case for charging at one of its stations rather than at home, especially in metros like Tshwane, where residential tariffs range from R4 to R5 per kWh.
According to Joubert Walters, SAEV Charge will deploy another two 120kW stations at Rivo Quarter in Paarl and Veldskoen Padstal in De Doorns by the middle of October 2026.
The next three stations will roll out in Pretoria and Centurion in Gauteng, as well as Tzaneen in Limpopo, followed by deployments along the N7 and Garden Route.
The company plans to cover all major highways and regional routes with its charging infrastructure, adding to the current cohort of around 300–400 stations in operation.
It remains to be seen whether SAEV Charge can offer similarly low tariffs at its other planned locations, where it may not always benefit from a large rooftop solar power system.
However, its hardware suggests it will have some flexibility in pricing, even in locations with little or no self-generation.
SAEV Charge has its own DC-to-DC charging station developed in partnership with SolarMD. It integrates a 272kWh BESS.
In addition to providing backup power when the grid is unavailable, the BESS can support lower charging tariffs with strategically timed refills.
On properties with time-of-use tariffs, batteries can be configured to charge more cheaply during off-peak hours and discharge in peak periods.
In addition, charging the battery when the property’s overall electricity draw is lower helps avoid high notified maximum demand charges.
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(source: MyBroadband)