During the last few months 4 DC charge points delivering 150kW (also known as HPC – High Power Chargers) have been installed and been free to use for the time being, so that ESB can see how these work for the users.
This test phase is finishing now and from the December 1st 2020, we will have to pay to use these, like any other charge point. Pricing is set at 37 cents per kWh for pay as you go customers, and 34.5 cents per kWh for members (membership being at €4.60 per month). There is an introductory offer : till March 1st, 34.5 cents pricing will apply to PAYG customers.
| Pricing (incl VAT) | AC (22kW) | DC (50kW) | DC HPC (150kW) |
| Pay as you go | 26.8c | 30.5c | 37c (34.5c till 1/3/2021) |
| Membership | 23c | 26.8c | 34.5c |
Pricing is rather reasonable compared to 50kW DC charge, and this is a good news, as it means will be only a small premium to pay to charge faster a 50+kW capable vehicle.
Let’s see the cost and average charging time for a vehicle charging 30kWh of energy at 30.5c (DC) vs 37c (HPC).
| Average charging speed | Time spent on HPC | Time spent on 50kW DC at 40kW average |
| 40kW | 45 minutes | 45 minutes |
| 80kW | 22.5 minutes | 45 minutes |
| 120kW | 15 minutes | 45 minutes |
| Total cost | €11.10 | €9.15 |
As we can see, the extra cost of around 20% is very reasonable considering the time saved, of course depending on the vehicle you drive. ESB Ecars has announced today the rolling out of 50 of these charge points across the country