I'd like to propose to add to the scope of the investigation certain "smart" charger operator / utility holding EV users to ransom with an exuberant charging "rental" for select sites exclusively.
If your building has signed an exclusive contract with a particular provider, that is an issue to take up with building management, not the exclusive supplier. The key questions are whether there was any other way to get charging into the building, and did they do a good job negotiation the best deal for tenants?
I feel the pain for these charging network operators trying to start the market. Building Management and Incorporated Owners won't co-operate, and without flexible and smart metering the up-front capital costs are scary. Add on the government's abrupt drop in support (and corresponding drop to near zero of the number of new cars coming onto the market), and it must be incredibly discouraging.
The pricing I've seen looks like capital payback in 2 to 3 years (remember that the provider is paying for everything up-front, and taking the risk). That is pretty conservative. But given the nascent state of the market, I'm not too surprised. It is a shame they weren't more up-front about this, and had a scale where the price dropped after N years of contract (and capital investment had been paid off).
I've just gone through a similar thing, getting Internet Fibre to our building (down 1km of private road). In the end, a dozen or so houses all agreed to pay their share of the capital costs, plus commit to 2 years usage. Despite the high up-front costs, I still think that is the more reasonable approach than bundling the capital costs into the usage costs. But, to be successful that approach requires volume (and that volume may just not be there for EVs in some buildings).
