Policy: Charging arrangements for electric cars in the garage
Background: The proportion of electric cars has increased considerably in the last two years. This appears to be a steadily growing trend, also in Tenerife and possibly in La Colina.
We have received information from the administrator that we already have some electric cars that are regularly charged in our garage. This raises some concerns that need to be addressed as soon as possible:
a) The economic aspect: Owners charge their cars using the La Colina communal garage subscription. This seems like an unfair solution in the long run, as the entire community finances the charging cost for these owners.
b) The vulnerability aspect: We would face a serious problem in the future if we allow the number of these charging installations to increase. Based on the experience of other apartment blocks, there is a high risk that this could lead to frequent power outages across the entire complex or a large part of it.
Charging multiple electric cars places a significantly different load on the electrical infrastructure of an apartment complex compared to previous usage. We must be prepared for a potential power outage, as the increased charging of cars during the evenings and at night generates energy consumption that exceeds the capacity of our current electrical infrastructure.
It’s difficult to predict exactly where the breakdown threshold lies in terms of the number of electric cars that can be charged before we experience overloads and failures. In any case, it seems very risky to continue allowing more cars to be charged without protecting our electrical infrastructure from such failures.
Specialized infrastructure solutions with dynamic and automatic load balancing between electric vehicle charging and the overall energy consumption of apartment buildings have been on the market for several years. Thanks to collaboration with competent partners/suppliers, we can offer a secure and robust infrastructure that protects both groups of consumers from power outages.
a) As a short-term solution , it seems reasonable for electric vehicle owners to pay an increase in their community fees to cover the increased cost of charging. This could be based on a solid cost estimate, or they could pay for the installation of their own energy meter. This solution can only be a preliminary one, as described in section b) below.
b) Given that the current configuration is not sustainable in the short term , we should immediately suspend the installation of new electric vehicle charging points. We should begin soliciting bids for a modern, automated, and dynamic load balancing infrastructure to protect our electricity supply from overloads and outages. The cost of establishing this infrastructure should be borne by all electric vehicle owners, both current and future.
The administrator should be assigned to initiate a request for proposals from relevant professional solution providers as soon as possible.
Status: This policy was decided by the Annual General Assembly on February 27, 2020.