Charging in Portugal: (almost) everything you need to know!

[Scandinavian]

Why did you not use the Porsche Charging card or app????

Of course you will have to pay Ionity rates with the Ionity app

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[tchavei]

So I called Porsche Charge to clarify these questions and they told me:
Porsche Charging Card simply does not work in Portugal neither in the stations nor at Porsche Destination. They are working to sort things out until the end of the month. Until then if you want to charge your Taycan you can go to amPorsche dealer or pay with the provider, even in Porsche Destination stations(!).

ilI was not lucky with porsche plug and charge at Ionity in Spain and ended using their app (with bad rates):

End of month? Good luck...

What Porsche did here in Portugal was to partner up with Iberdrola (which is a registered Energy Provider here) and Iberdrola issues a card (Iberdrola) with special Porsche discounts. I have both the "regular" Iberdrola card and the "porsche" iberdrola card (both for portuguese use) plus the porsche charging card for international use. If you use the iberdrola porsche card, you will have porsche discounts at ionity. Probably the card could also be used at any other charger in portugal if Iberdrola finds a way of direct credit card charging Porsche clients (for nationals, it's a end-of-month debit contract like all other energy providers).

PS: Porsche destination chargers are free... at least in Portugal. Never saw one here where you had to swipe any card? Just plug in and go eat/sleep?

 

[captainlk]

I've just driven from London to Algarve and this thread really saved me some misery - in particular having the Miio app and card saved me so many times.

Some things that surprised me:

* The Porsche charging card and app don't work here (as stated in comment above) resulting in much confusion at the Ionity I tried.
* At some chargers the Miio app worked but not the card and at others the card worked but not the app. If you go to this country make sure you get the card.
* There was a particular make of charger used by both LEVE and EDP which had good reviews on the app but CCS2 didn't work with my Taycan at all. This resulted in a lot of misery and desperation with a hungry tired child in Lisbon.
* I assumed Iberdrola fast chargers would be reliable given the Porsche thing but I never came across one or figured out how to find them

There are so many different brands of chargers here that it makes the strategy of finding a couple of companies which have which widespead reliable chargers and sticking to those ineffective. Ionity is solid but with the rest it was a bit of lottery. I would love for someone native to explain how they decide where to stop and charge on long journeys.

 

[tchavei]

I've just driven from London to Algarve and this thread really saved me some misery - in particular having the Miio app and card saved me so many times.

Some things that surprised me:

* The Porsche charging card and app don't work here (as stated in comment above) resulting in much confusion at the Ionity I tried.
* At some chargers the Miio app worked but not the card and at others the card worked but not the app. If you go to this country make sure you get the card.
* There was a particular make of charger used by both LEVE and EDP which had good reviews on the app but CCS2 didn't work with my Taycan at all. This resulted in a lot of misery and desperation with a hungry tired child in Lisbon.
* I assumed Iberdrola fast chargers would be reliable given the Porsche thing but I never came across one or figured out how to find them

There are so many different brands of chargers here that it makes the strategy of finding a couple of companies which have which widespead reliable chargers and sticking to those ineffective. Ionity is solid but with the rest it was a bit of lottery. I would love for someone native to explain how they decide where to stop and charge on long journeys.

Glad the post was of some help

I usually chose charging stations by their reviews in Miio. If it has a good rating or complaints are not recent, it "should be fine".

That being said, my Taycan works with any brand of charger except the ones at the "Pingo Doce" Supermarket chain.

I've contacted both the charger owners and Porsche multiple times in the past 6 months and I always got ignored. There's something about the software in those charging stations that doesn't play ball with the Taycan. All other brands charge there fine. In worst case scenario, with a Taycan, the HV converter chip will malfunction and stop being able to charge DC at all after a close encounter with those Pingo Doce chargers. You'll need to leave it for an hour for the system to reset itself to be able to charge DC at any other charger.

There's some sort of communication protocol mismatch as the charger throws a "No SLAC message received from car"

As long as you stay away from those, you should be fine.

Don't go much about charger brands because KLC works perfectly at Lidl supermarkets but the Pingo Doce ones are also KLC and don't work.

EDP, Galp, Prio, EVOLT, Ionity, Blue charge, que etc, they all work fine.

EDIT: the Porsche card doesn't work in portugal as Porsche isn't a registered CEME. They can't sell electricity. I have a second Porsche (Sponsored by Iberdrola) card that works here (since it's iberdrola who is charging you).

 

[IZY]

Very helpful article @tchavei

I am also living in Portugal and basically charging 98% at home. During my last trip up north to Galicia I was charging with the EDP charging card and the Viaverde app. I also got stranded at Ionity Barcelos (before I read your article) and my Porsche charging card didn't work. On the phone with Ionity I got told "not our problem" and Porsche was really trying to help but the customer service employee wasn't aware that there card just doesn't work in Portugal. However, Porsche quotes in their charging app an Ionity price of 33 Cents/kWh without referring to any other requirements?!?!? Anyhow, in the end I charged with ViaVerde at 66 Cents/kWh - what a rip off!!!

Would you mind telling me how to get the Iberdrola/Porsche card? I couldn't find anything on their webpage.

Do you also have any good tips for Spain? Any specific charging card/app that I should get?

Thanks, Andreas

 

[stayphen]

This thread is super helpful! While I won't be driving a Taycan in Portugal, I'm considering renting a small EV like the Honda e. Unfortunately, I heard the manufacturer stopped selling them in Japan and then pulled the plug for Europe just a year later. Any suggestions for alternative small EVs to rent in Portugal next year? Starting my planning early!

This article also looks useful for planning: https://gowithguide.com/blog/tourism-in-portugal-statistics-2023-the-ultimate-guide-5600 in case anyone is interested.

 

[tchavei]

Very helpful article @tchavei

I am also living in Portugal and basically charging 98% at home. During my last trip up north to Galicia I was charging with the EDP charging card and the Viaverde app. I also got stranded at Ionity Barcelos (before I read your article) and my Porsche charging card didn't work. On the phone with Ionity I got told "not our problem" and Porsche was really trying to help but the customer service employee wasn't aware that there card just doesn't work in Portugal. However, Porsche quotes in their charging app an Ionity price of 33 Cents/kWh without referring to any other requirements?!?!? Anyhow, in the end I charged with ViaVerde at 66 Cents/kWh - what a rip off!!!

Would you mind telling me how to get the Iberdrola/Porsche card? I couldn't find anything on their webpage.

Do you also have any good tips for Spain? Any specific charging card/app that I should get?

Thanks, Andreas

Hi!

Sorry for the late reply. I'm not an avid forum follower anymore. Just trying to get as many km under my belt as possible ?

Regarding the card, I would contact Porsche Iberia (based in Spain) and tell them you're based in Portugal and that you know they have an agreement with Iberdrola regarding the special Portuguese Market.

They should send you a registration link which includes a porsche code. Once you register, Iberdrola will send you a porsche/Iberdrola card that has the above mentioned benefits (porsche rate on ionity chargers and 22% off regular charges)

Hope that helps.

PS: in Spain, the official Porsche card (and id) work at ionity and selected networks (Walea comes to mind). The Iberdrola/Porsche card ONLY works in Portugal.

 

[IZY]

Thank you very much for your reply and also for sharing the picture of the actual card. You are much more helpful than the Porsche customer service! The Porsche dealer here in Estoril has no clue, Porsche Customer service has sent me a not that I won‘t be able to get the card any longer as I am a missing a promo code. I have never received that code as I bought the car in Germany. I guess that was it or do you still have a tip for me? I was trying to find Porsche Iberia direct contact points but I wasn’t successful, yet.

 

[tchavei]

Thank you very much for your reply and also for sharing the picture of the actual card. You are much more helpful than the Porsche customer service! The Porsche dealer here in Estoril has no clue, Porsche Customer service has sent me a not that I won‘t be able to get the card any longer as I am a missing a promo code. I have never received that code as I bought the car in Germany. I guess that was it or do you still have a tip for me? I was trying to find Porsche Iberia direct contact points but I wasn’t successful, yet.

Wow that sucks. I spoke to my SA at Porsche Leiria and indeed seems that now new contracts are coming out. He says the new ones have flat rates of 0.49€/kW and 0.39€/kW at ionity stations all inclusive.

I'm not sure it's cheaper than a regular iberdrola or prio card except for ionity where it is really cheaper. Porsche said they would send me the new card in a week or so (their own card. Not the iberdrola one).

I'll report if it works in Portugal

 

[IZY]

Thanks @tchavei

Would be great to hear an update if the new card works.

 

[tchavei]

Thanks @tchavei

Would be great to hear an update if the new card works.

I will. Card has been sent out but haven't got it yet.

 

[tchavei]

Update.

Got the new porsche card!

Apparently it now works in Portugal (will physically test tomorrow) which means Porsche registered as a CEME... I'm afraid next time I want to charge at a dealership they will charge me (the Leiria Porsche Dealer did NOT charge me two weeks ago though. No idea about the other dealerships).

In the meanwhile, I found a great website made by a Portuguese guy who was tired of not knowing real charging costs. It's even more comprehensive and accurate as miio.

The link is https://comparaervilhas.pt

Which freely translates into comparing peas (or peanuts for English speakers)

I'm also attaching a screenshot of my town so you can see how different the prices can be depending on the charger type, location and even contract you're using.

It has inbuilt charging curves for the Taycan even, to calculate time and cost. I do advise to use the Taycan Turbo Profile if you have the PB+ battery or it will try to use the standard one with different curves and max rates.


This is at the same charger station:

The difference can be quite hefty.

 

[jonjon808]

Just to add my experience as a UK based driver, currently in Portugal having driven all the way. First off, I was Pointed to this thread after I posted about the trip in that forum, and it has been super-helpful in getting me ready.

I have not had to do a great deal of charging in Portugal itself, but used the Portsche iPhone app to initialise an Ionity charge and had no issues. Miio app has been great for a few of the other stops (a 22KW and a 200KW). There were a couple of instances where the app said it could not initiate a charge and I should use the card, which I didn’t have, so that was a pain.

Keeping it simple with Ionity and the Porsche app was great though

 

[jonjon808]

To add a footnote to my charging in Portugal, specifically using the Miio App.

It seems that the app is a microcosm of the chaos that the OP pointed out about charging in Portugal! This may only affect people if they are using a credit card to pre-pay and load up €20 or so at a time, but this is the method I used to add credit to my Miio app, then plugged in and started charging. All seems fine and credit was used up, as the charges progressed. Add more money, use more charge, all good.

Two weeks after I got back from Portugal, I got a note in e-mail, and on the app, to say that there were non-settled invoices totalling €56.12. and my use of the app was blocked until this was settled. Which is odd as I had topped up the credit by a total of €80 and used a total cost of charge of €80.43. What was I getting invoice for?

So I contacted Miio Support and got the following in reply.

"Hi,

First of all, we appreciate your question.

In fact, this error is not miio's fault, but rather a communication error with the charging point to which miio is completely unrelated and unfortunately, we can do nothing about it.

The General Regulation of Electric Mobility provides for a period of 30 days after the session is completed for any adjustments to be made, which may include adjustments to invoices. The adjustment may come in a short time, but some users end up receiving these adjustments after a few days. This regulation is not from miio; it is legally imposed, and it forms the basis for our work and our terms and conditions of use. Unfortunately, this is an issue that occurs somewhat frequently and is more visible in prepaid accounts because it can result in a change from a normal to a blocked status of your wallet due to a lack of funds, which is exactly what happened to you.

We are aware of this, but we cannot control the charging point manufacturer, the operator, or even the mobile data provider to make communication instantaneous."

Here is a screen shot of the billing detail for one of the charging stops I made. What a completely indecipherable mess! I can't tell from the Miio support e-mail whether I have to wait for it all the essentially shake out of the system, or whether there really is a €56 bill to settle.

Anyway, thankfully back in the land of simple charging now!

 

[tchavei]

To add a footnote to my charging in Portugal, specifically using the Miio App.

It seems that the app is a microcosm of the chaos that the OP pointed out about charging in Portugal! This may only affect people if they are using a credit card to pre-pay and load up €20 or so at a time, but this is the method I used to add credit to my Miio app, then plugged in and started charging. All seems fine and credit was used up, as the charges progressed. Add more money, use more charge, all good.

Two weeks after I got back from Portugal, I got a note in e-mail, and on the app, to say that there were non-settled invoices totalling €56.12. and my use of the app was blocked until this was settled. Which is odd as I had topped up the credit by a total of €80 and used a total cost of charge of €80.43. What was I getting invoice for?

So I contacted Miio Support and got the following in reply.

"Hi,

First of all, we appreciate your question.

In fact, this error is not miio's fault, but rather a communication error with the charging point to which miio is completely unrelated and unfortunately, we can do nothing about it.

The General Regulation of Electric Mobility provides for a period of 30 days after the session is completed for any adjustments to be made, which may include adjustments to invoices. The adjustment may come in a short time, but some users end up receiving these adjustments after a few days. This regulation is not from miio; it is legally imposed, and it forms the basis for our work and our terms and conditions of use. Unfortunately, this is an issue that occurs somewhat frequently and is more visible in prepaid accounts because it can result in a change from a normal to a blocked status of your wallet due to a lack of funds, which is exactly what happened to you.

We are aware of this, but we cannot control the charging point manufacturer, the operator, or even the mobile data provider to make communication instantaneous."

Here is a screen shot of the billing detail for one of the charging stops I made. What a completely indecipherable mess! I can't tell from the Miio support e-mail whether I have to wait for it all the essentially shake out of the system, or whether there really is a €56 bill to settle.

Anyway, thankfully back in the land of simple charging now!

Hi. That is correct. As I explained earlier, with all those little fees and taxes, nobody actually knows how much a session costs until everything is settled and done which can take up to 30 days.

I've had a couple of energy providers failing to send me invoices on time because they struggle to get all the charges correctly accounted for.

Regarding this, I might have a couple of news:

1: my new Porsche card still refuses to work in Portugal so I've been using the other Porsche Iberdrola card. No idea if it's still a limitation or if something is wrong with my particular card. I'll find out next time I go to Seville.

2: Portuguese government will be opening charging stalls to direct payment. I've already found a bunch of high speed chargers (specially the ones belonging to blue dot) in the 150kW range with credit card terminals in addition to the traditional contract card interfaces. So I think charging directly with a credit card is now a possibility (except that I expect it to be more expensive that way).

However, even considering all the nuisance, I can't really say I'm unhappy specially when considering this chart:

We definitely have a better climate than Iceland so I'm willing to pay the difference ?

Cheers

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