No more reparking in the middle of the night: Berlin abolishes the blocking fee for electric cars

Starting July 1, 2025, Berliner Stadtwerke, the largest operator of public charging infrastructure in the capital, will waive the so-called blocking fee between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. – but only for ad-hoc charging sessions paid by credit card or PayPal. As reported by Tagesspiegel, this means that anyone who stays at a charging station for more than four hours at night will no longer pay the two cents per minute that was previously charged.

To put it in context: The blocking fee is a time-dependent surcharge that is charged in addition to the electricity price if an electric car remains parked at a charging point after the charging session has been completed. It was introduced to prevent charging points from being blocked and to keep the charging infrastructure efficiently usable. Anyone who doesn't move their car after charging is blocking the charging station – and anyone who blocks it is paying. At least until now.

The reaction to the abolition is twofold. For many electric car drivers, it's a relief. No one has to get up in the middle of the night to park their vehicle just to avoid fees. On the other hand, more charging points could remain blocked overnight in the future. This threatens to exacerbate the shortage of charging stations, as critics fear.

Several media outlets report that the move does not apply to customers with roaming contracts—for example, those who charge via an app or charging card from third-party providers. These customers will continue to pay blocking fees, provided the provider charges them. While Stadtwerke Berlin is asking its roaming partners to waive the fee, there is no guarantee.

The Berlin Senate supports the decision. As the Berliner Zeitung reports, the aim is to further promote electromobility in the capital. By eliminating the nighttime charge, the city hopes to further increase acceptance of electric cars. Compared to other operators, Berlin's move is an exception. Providers such as EnBW, Ionity, and EWE Go continue to rely on blocking fees to ensure fair utilization of their infrastructure. For them, it's clear: those who charge pay, and those who block pay even more.