A charging station for charging electric vehicles and the charging station comprises a network connection point for exchanging electrical power with an electrical supply network, at least one charging terminal, in each case for charging an electric vehicle, and a control device for controlling the charging station, wherein the control device is set up to determine an equivalent storage capacity and to transmit it to a receiver outside the charging station, in particular to an operator of the electrical supply network, a network controller and/or a direct marketer, wherein the equivalent storage capacity describes a value which corresponds to a storage capacity of an equivalent electrical storage device which can absorb or emit as much energy as the charging station can absorb or emit by changing its absorbed or emitted power for a predetermined support period.