On May 27, 2026, the European Parliament Research Center (ERPS) published a study regarding the Pricing of E-Charging for Electric Cars and Onshore Power Supply in Ports. EPRS has performed the study following a request from the European Parliament’s Transport and Tourism (TRAN) Committee.
The study looks at pricing practices in public electrical vehicle charging and onshore power supply (OPS) in ports, taking into account factors related to comparability, transparency, cost drivers and market structure throughout the European Union.
For OPS, after analysing a number of best practices across the EU as well as well as international examples of pricing practices, the report offers a number of key policy recommendations:
- Consider the introduction of a minimum standard for OPS tariff transparency. For OPS which is publicly accessible, ports or terminal operators are recommended to publish a clear tariff sheet showing information such as the energy price and per-call connection fee, tax treatment etc;
- The Commission is called on to develop a common comparison-method based on standard vessel-call scenarios, in view of facilitating comparisons across ports;
- Member States and the EU should step up their efforts aimed at reducing the upstream cost barriers that make OPS expensive, for example, through tax incentives or grid reinforcements;
- The level playing field and uptake incentive should be strengthened, for example, by making OPS mandatory as opposed to relying on voluntary uptake. The 2030 and 2035 user requirements laid down in FuelEU Maritime should be strictly applied and it could be envisaged to lower the current threshold or extend legislation to different vessel types.
The report can be accessed here.
