BUSINESS NEWS FEBRUARY 4, 2019 / 10:47 AM / UPDATED 14 MINUTES AGO

Volkswagen's Electrify America buys Tesla devices for EV charging stations

Nick Carey
3 MIN READ

DETROIT (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG unit Electrify America said on Monday it will install Tesla Inc battery storage packs at more than 100 charging stations across the United States to keep costs down for drivers charging electric vehicles.

Electricity users can incur high-demand charges from many U.S. utilities when they draw a lot of energy from the grid in a short time, which can happen charging an electric vehicle or a number of them at once at a single station.

“If you pass the demand charge onto the customer in a high-demand charge market” it can cost anywhere from $70 to $110 to charge a vehicle, Electrify America’s chief operating officer Brendan Jones told Reuters. “If you did that, obviously nobody would buy an electric vehicle.”

Tesla Powerpack battery systems draw power from the grid during off-peak hours and store it for use during peak hours to avoid or reduce demand charges. Electrify America will install most of its battery packs in areas of the United States where there is a higher concentration of electric vehicle owners, particularly on the West Coast and the Northeast.

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