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Does Better Place Have A Monopoly On Electric Cars In Israel? Page 2

 
1,271 views Apr 24, 2012
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Renault Fluence ZE electric cars in Israel, provided by Better Place [photo: Better Place]

Renault Fluence ZE electric cars in Israel, provided by Better Place [photo: Better Place]

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Unlike the U.S., Israel's power grid and generating capacity are stretched and severe disruptions to the supply of natural gas from Egypt are presently causing problems.

Policy makers believe "priority should be given to overnight charging," whereas "random charging during the day [will] require the construction of additional power stations."


The Ministry of National Infrastructure policy includes the following general principle:

1. Stringent safety requirements and minimization of electrocution risks and other harm to humans and the environment will be ensured.

In covering Better Place, the Israeli press has focused largely on the safety issues of unrestrained cables on streets and the idea that using domestic power sockets is risky.

By and large, local reporters have downplayed calls for competition and the mandate for smart charging to protect the grid--perhaps opting to avoid having to explain this complex subject.

Two more principles:

4. EV owners may enter into a contract with a charging supplier to manage the charging of their electric vehicles, but will not be obligated to do so.

12. Fair competition in the EV industry shall be maintained.

It also says the "charging supplier shall not constrain its customers from obtaining charging services from...devices not owned or managed by it," which appears to require roaming among charging services.

The policy requires easy, free cancellation terms for customers who want to end subscriptions, and bans multi-year contracts like those for mobile phones. Suppliers must also serve customers from other networks.

So, while the Israeli government policy hits all the right notes for an open market in electric cars and their charging services, the question remains: Will Better Place really face competition either in cars or charging services?

Brian Thomas ("Brian of London") emigrated from the U.K. to Israel in 2009. He has placed an order for and will soon own a Renault Fluence ZE sold through Better Place. He owns and operates his own import company in Israel with more than 15 staff. He regularly blogs at Israellycool about life in Israel, technology and business topics.

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Comments (22)

  1. fb_1001015277 avatar John Briggs Posted: 4/24/2012 7:47am PDT

    So if I can bring in a Volt to Israel, do I have to contract with Better Place in order to charge it?

    Thanks for the great reporting on this issue. Better Place is clearly a model to watch.
     
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  2. fb_533847997 avatar Amir Weiss Posted: 4/24/2012 12:15pm PDT

    No you don't, but you need to have a charging post installed. It can be installed by Better Place, it's competitor, or by the electric company itself.
     
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  3. fb_100000005296979 avatar Kent Beuchert Posted: 4/24/2012 8:53am PDT

    The ultimate irony is that Israel has billions of barrels of shale oil ready to be tapped. I thought Israel was more or less a small island in an Arabian sea - would seem, like Hawaii, the ideal place for a range restricted EV (100 miles or so) to operate. The cost of driving a Better Place vehicle seemed exorbitant - and much of that cost is being paid for by drivers who don't even own a Better Place vehicle. So what happens when those other drivers become Better Place drivers? Better Place is no solution to the problem of high battery costs, which is the issue, not range restrictions, especially in Israel.
     
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  4. brianoflondon avatar Brian of London Posted: 4/24/2012 10:22am PDT

    Kent,

    I saw your post about oil shale before, like most places with this resource Israel is in the early stages of talking about getting it out. My personal feeling is that with OPEC still in the driving seat for liquid fuel the opportunity for them to screw everbody with a sudden price dump is there. Once we've broken that 95% number for oil fueled vehicles down to something like 50% we've got them.

    Second please explain how non Better Place drivers are subsidising BP cars? I cant see it. The tax break is small, Prius vs a big Merc is similar and BP actually employee (and therefor pay taxes for) hundreds more employees than any car importer.
     
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  5. fb_1001015277 avatar John Briggs Posted: 4/24/2012 12:57pm PDT

    I thought there was a 83% import tax on ICE cars and 10% import tax on EVs. Isn't that what Kent is talking about. Not that I am opposed to that, after all, the cost of externalities of Oil need to be considered.
     
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  6. brianoflondon avatar Brian of London Posted: 4/24/2012 1:31pm PDT

    There's a complex series of green related reductions to the 83%. Hybrids have a 30% reduction to the tax down to 53%. All new immigrants have the tax cut to 50%. Perversley the most discounted cars for new immigrants are the most polluting. The whole thing is a horrendous system i only began to understand to write this.

    And I will get my car in 3 or 4 weeks.
     
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  7. fb_1001015277 avatar John Briggs Posted: 4/24/2012 6:30pm PDT

    Cool. It will be interesting to hear more once you get your car. It is a great looking vehicle.
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  8. Chris O avatar Chris O Posted: 4/24/2012 11:57am PDT

    Yeah what do you know, turns out Israel is basically sitting on a big pile of cash after all...should make it the envy of the region I guess and it will attract the attention of an increasingly oil starved world. Hardly a recipe for peace. Oil is messy...
     
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  9. Chris O avatar Chris O Posted: 4/24/2012 10:30am PDT

    Interesting report. Basically confirms what I feared: bring in Better Place and one replaces the existing Big Oil automotive fuel monopoly with a new one, possibly even more monopolistic, egregiously robbing you of your right to charge at home, condemning you to their services.

    One thing that Big Oil and Better Place have in common: they both can't afford a breakthrough in battery tech that leads to cheap and quickly rechargeable batteries. Seems like a bad idea to create powerful vested interests like that.
     
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  10. brianoflondon avatar Brian of London Posted: 4/24/2012 11:17am PDT

    I believe either BP or another co. will offer cheap in home charging units if any of the car importers can be bothered to bring an EV.

    BP can't gauge: they are in a fierce competition with gasoline which has a huge installed infrastructure advantage.

    What remains to be seen is if their service is up to scratch, can they keep the stations and public charge spots working? Are they dependable? Its not really about the comparison to nearly free home charging, it's the overall ability for an EV to compete 100% against gasoline.
     
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  11. Chris O avatar Chris O Posted: 4/24/2012 11:34am PDT

    I don't see how BP could offer home charging if it's banned with the formal argument that the grid couldn't handle it, and why couldn't you install your own unit instead?

    BP can't gauge...Agassi said himself that the cost of batteries will go down offering them an opportunity for interesting profits. So prices that are reasonable now, considering current cost may one day be excessive considering changes in cost, especially if it turns out the network required amounts to a natural monopoly.

    I do agree that BP could be a pretty effective system to overcome the shortcomings of current gen batteries and offer a serious alternative to gasoline, but I think it's too early to settle for a solution that may stand in the way of better solutions.
     
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  12. brianoflondon avatar Brian of London Posted: 4/24/2012 12:13pm PDT

    Home charging isn't banned, just charging from a regular domestic socket. I've got a level 2 box on the wall in my garage now waiting. BP could install that for anyone at a cost and manage the electricity for non swap customers. They would be obliged to charge only by the kWh.

    It's competition with gasoline that should keep them honest. We can only hope. I based purchase decision on the gamble that gas prices would be steadily up for next 4 years. Anyone wants to make a bet the other way? If batts get cheaper that doesn't directly affect me because I didn't buy one!
     
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  13. fb_1001015277 avatar John Briggs Posted: 4/24/2012 1:00pm PDT

    Brian, So do you have a Fluence?
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  14. Chris O avatar Chris O Posted: 4/24/2012 1:13pm PDT

    So one could install once's own charging system too, independent of suppliers like BP? Apparently not because according to the Ha'aretz article I quoted before:

    "Yesterday Water and Energy Resources Minister Uzi Landau signed off on the change in regulations that will bar motorists from simply recharging their electric car batteries at home, but will make the service available by firms such as Better Place and Gnergy. "
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  15. fb_533847997 avatar Amir Weiss Posted: 4/24/2012 8:21pm PDT

    "So one could install once's own charging system too, independent of suppliers like BP?"
    Yes. You will be able to order a charging system directly from the electric company and pay the same rate for electricity as you do for home electricity.
     
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  16. brianoflondon avatar Brian of London Posted: 4/24/2012 9:30pm PDT

    Sorry! Damn iPad, tried to vote this up!

    Amir is spot on. You must pay a competent electrician to install a charge spot and then you just pay ₪.50 per kWh $0.13
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  17. fb_1001015277 avatar John Briggs Posted: 4/25/2012 5:23am PDT

    Sorry, now I am totally confused.
    So do I need 1) a contract with BP (or equivalent) or

    2) can I just have an EVSE installed by an independent contractor and pay market rates for electricity?
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  18. fb_586990465 avatar David Rose Posted: 4/27/2012 11:29am PDT

    @John Briggs, actually as an Israeli it's quite simple to understand. Yes, you can have an EVSE installed by an independent contractor, pay market rates for electricity, the Israel Electric Company would not know what to do with you, the EVSE would cost a fortune, and ROI would take forever. Makes more sense to go to Better Place, they cover the cost of the EVSE for home and work as well (above a certain km level) and the battery is their headache.
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  19. fb_527963464 avatar Anthony Aouate Posted: 4/24/2012 11:04am PDT

    Thanks to the reduction of taxes (Green Transportation Tax) the Israeli car market has become very "green". We see a disproportionate number of Prius and Insight (compared to Europe) and I recently saw a Chevrolet Volt on the highway.
    From what I heard, the offer of Better Place attracted more corporate fleets because of the high cost of using and more or less equal to a gasoline car.
     
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  20. brianoflondon avatar Brian of London Posted: 4/25/2012 10:54pm PDT

    John:

    All talk of other EVs in Israel is theoretical till an importer decides to bring one. I suspect that privately importing something as novel as an EV that hasn't been brought by one of the big importers would be next to impossible.

    If one did get here, technically, it would be a violation of your agreement with the Electric company (we have only 1) to plug it in but I suspect nobody is checking.

    To do it legally you'd have to get an electrician to install a charging point and talk with the electricity company about it.

    You could call Better Place and negotiate a deal with them.

    It's all theoretical because there is only the BP car for now.
     
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  21. brianoflondon avatar Brian of London Posted: 4/25/2012 10:57pm PDT

    Just one thing: there has been a Tesla here for 2 years brought by a very wealthy individual who happens to have a large stake in BP. I suspect for years he's been plugging it in to the regular power mains till now. He probably has a BP charge point to use now.
     
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  22. brianoflondon avatar Brian of London Posted: 4/26/2012 1:55pm PDT

    If you're not all bored senseless by this already, I now have a longer discussion of these issues over on my own blog:

    http://www.israellycool.com/2012/04/26/the-only-monopoly-is-the-one-oil-has-over-transport-now/
     
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