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>electric charging will become a commodity Alas, I would have thought the same for ISPs. Any reason why EV charging won't naturally evolve into a similar overp

>electric charging will become a commodity Alas, I would have thought the same for ISPs. Any reason why EV charging won't naturally evolve into a similar overpriced, regulator capturing, locale-by-locale monopoly? I'm talking about the subset of the EV owners without home charging. Currently this number is small, but as battery prices drop and EVs become the de-facto 'regular car,' there's ~60% of the population who have no "at-cost" home charging (being locked-in to whatever exclusive vendor their apartment complex chooses). In this respect EVs are very different from gasoline vehicles, and I say this as a big supporter of EVs. I can drive across town to buy gas, but I can't park my car across town overnight. The problem with competing firms is that eventually someone wins.

yurishimo 8y ago
The thing is ISPs almost became a commodity until we figured out we could get higher speeds with cable infrastructure. We all remember the local phone company offering dial-up back in the 90s. In many European countries, ISPs are a commodity since the owners of the cable have to provide access to anyone at reasonable market rates. That's why the fight for net neutrality is so important.
Obi_Juan_Kenobi 8y ago
The comparison to your apartment example would be pay-laundry, not ISPs. ISPs gain monopolies because of the last-mile infrastructure. Charging services are quite interchangeable as electric service is already running to buildings.
- schiffern 8y ago
  >Charging services are quite interchangeable Not for the tenants themselves. Tenants need permission from the owner to install charging infrastructure, and the owner has little incentive to allow competition because the vendor gives them a cut of the [overpriced] charging fee. Even California's progressive tenant EV charger law[1] doesn't apply if 10% (!) of parking spots already have chargers. Your example of pay laundry is instructive. In theory laundry service remains interchangeable (after all, "water/electric service is already running to the buildings"), but in practice the owner simply forbids tenants from installing their own laundry machines (typically citing flood risk). [1] https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB2565 https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml...
  - dpkonofa 8y ago
    This is a great point and one that forward-thinking apartment owners need to consider. There's no reason not to start offering much more EV parking and charging residents a premium for it or offering solar-powered EV charging stations.

yurishimo 8y ago

The thing is ISPs almost became a commodity until we figured out we could get higher speeds with cable infrastructure. We all remember the local phone company offering dial-up back in the 90s. In many European countries, ISPs are a commodity since the owners of the cable have to provide access to anyone at reasonable market rates. That's why the fight for net neutrality is so important.

Obi_Juan_Kenobi 8y ago

The comparison to your apartment example would be pay-laundry, not ISPs. ISPs gain monopolies because of the last-mile infrastructure. Charging services are quite interchangeable as electric service is already running to buildings.

schiffern 8y ago
>Charging services are quite interchangeable Not for the tenants themselves. Tenants need permission from the owner to install charging infrastructure, and the owner has little incentive to allow competition because the vendor gives them a cut of the [overpriced] charging fee. Even California's progressive tenant EV charger law[1] doesn't apply if 10% (!) of parking spots already have chargers. Your example of pay laundry is instructive. In theory laundry service remains interchangeable (after all, "water/electric service is already running to the buildings"), but in practice the owner simply forbids tenants from installing their own laundry machines (typically citing flood risk). [1] https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB2565 https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml...
- dpkonofa 8y ago
  This is a great point and one that forward-thinking apartment owners need to consider. There's no reason not to start offering much more EV parking and charging residents a premium for it or offering solar-powered EV charging stations.