2012. July 09.

The Balaton’s first electric charging station network was tested on Wednesday by the 2012 Megastar talent contestants, as a result of which Lake Balaton’s beauties can now be enjoyed by people traveling in electric cars. “We looked into five towns – Siófok, Fonyód, Keszthely, Balatonfüred and Székesfehérvár – and all five of them are now equipped with recharging stations for the E-Balaton ring road,” said E.ON Hungária Zrt CEO Eric Depluet.

“Current trends make it clear that the prices of crude oil and, along with it, fossil fuels are continuing to rise, which explains the focus on electric mobility throughout the world. E.ON’s German parent company is at the forefront in Europe in its efforts to promote the technology of the future. In 2011, for example, it introduced 2044 electric-drive vehicles in Germany. At the moment, its successes in Hungary are more moderate, but by developing the infrastructure to such a degree, the company is already preparing itself to meet the future energy needs when electric mobility becomes much more popular.”

As Hungary’s leading energy supplier, E.ON has acted in the spirit of sustainable development by taking significant steps in the past year to promote electric mobility. Since last October ten charging points have been opened along with the Balaton stations, which means that people are now easily able to travel from Budapest to Siófok and Keszthely as well as to Vienna. The construction of the two e-roads and the charging stations is only the first step in the creation of the e-mobility infrastructure since it still takes a relatively long time to recharge cars with these charging points. The goal of the New Ways of Energy program is not only for E.ON to build charging stations, but to work closely with its business partners to provide comprehensive, high quality services. The current charging stations are operated by the Hotel Azúr in Siófok, the Torony Restaurant in Fonyód, the Festetics Palace in Keszthely, the Flamingo Hotel in Balatonfüred and the Jancsár Hotel in Székesfehérvár.

Owing to its beautiful features and its focus on environmental awareness, the town of Siófok is making an effort to protect its environmental assets. “We consider it important, therefore, to support initiatives like this, and we hope that in a few years there will be many more electric vehicles along the shores of Lake Balaton. In order to encourage this, we are letting electric-drive vehicles park for free in public areas this year,” Siófok mayor, Dr Árpád Balázs said at a press conference.

“It’s no coincidence that we thought of creating the newest e-roads around the Balaton, because the Balaton has again become one of the most popular tourist destinations in recent years.” The Balaton is dear to all of us, and by reducing environmental damage and building the electric highway, we are trying to do as much as possible to protect the lake’s beauty. We welcome the innovative, forward-looking insight shown by the companies operating the charging stations and the mayors of the five cities where they are located. Our long-term goal is to supply these stations with power generated with renewable sources and thereby support emission-free driving,” Eric Depluet said.

The E.ON E-Race, which tested both driving and orientation skills, took place with the participation of Ottó Vincze, Gábor Boczkó and the talented singers from Megasztár.  “It was an incredible experience driving an electric car. It was quiet, eco-friendly and yet still able to perform as well as gasoline-powered cars.  And its acceleration was fantastic,” 2012 Megasztár finalist Andrea Szakos said.