High public charger pricing - war on EVs?

[K6CCC]

I was just very frustrated to see some great new charging options open up at some gas stations near me only to discover they're $0.79/kW

OUCH! BTW, that KWH not KW.

As said in an earlier post, the highest I have paid was $0.72. That was the most expensive of the local to me Tesla SuperChargers (and I did not have a subscription). That was also in the first week after purchase and I only had L1 at home (not even close to enough to make up for a round trip to work). Now I have my FCSP at home so essentially never have a need to fast charge locally. However EVGo just opened an 8 stall 350KW rate charger not far from here that is $0.50 / KWH. For DCFC, that's not bad for around here. This is the Los Angeles area, so some of the highest electric rates in the country.

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[evowner]

30 cents plus tax plus fees. 38 cents with those by Daytona.



Plug in. Done.

Open Ford app. Activate charger.

Or, open EA app. Activate charger.

Not how it worked for me. The Tesla charger was very simple in comparison. I don't know the reason.

 

[RickLightning]

Not how it worked for me. The Tesla charger was very simple in comparison. I don't know the reason.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[WXman]

And I'll share another tidbit. We get grants to install stations. I was just talking to my buddy here at work a little bit ago and he said we should have over 20 more new ones online by June of this year. But it costs $1 million for a 4-charger site(!) That's not a typo. AND each state has different tariffs and fees from the utility companies to get the energy to the chargers. In KY those tariffs are particularly high. So like I was saying, we're trying to build out some more network, but it costs a FORTUNE to install and power them and that's really holding things back....and that's also why the price at the charger is going up.

 

[arod412]

And I'll share another tidbit. We get grants to install stations. I was just talking to my buddy here at work a little bit ago and he said we should have over 20 more new ones online by June of this year. But it costs $1 million for a 4-charger site(!) That's not a typo. AND each state has different tariffs and fees from the utility companies to get the energy to the chargers. In KY those tariffs are particularly high. So like I was saying, we're trying to build out some more network, but it costs a FORTUNE to install and power them and that's really holding things back....and that's also why the price at the charger is going up.

Well this blows and it doesn't help the EV cause if those prices keep going up. I wonder if those costs are permanent, or if its just temporary (just to recoup initial install fees).

thanks for the great insight on how that works

 

[RickLightning]

You're not going to see competitive costs for high speed charging until there is, well, competition... And there needs to be awareness. Today, most people know gas station prices are all over the place, some choose to pay more for no valid reason. But, most have no clue that charging costs can differ significantly even in the same geographical area, so lowering prices to win business is not a thing, yet.

 

[evowner]

" In KY those tariffs are particularly high."

I just had to stop in Georgetown at an Electrify America and paid a small fortune to get back home.
I pulled a trailer down to our ranch in Lexington and I was planning to recharge there, but something happened to the charging cable. I will bring another one next time. I hope it works. It would have been less expensive for me to use an ICE vehicle. That is outrageous.

Full summary of your charging session with Electrify America.

Thank you for charging with Electrify America. Questions? Contact us 24 hours a day at 1-833-632-2778.

01/22/2026 6:14:49 PM Walmart 571 Georgetown 112 Osborne Way Georgetown, Kentucky 40324 Charger ID: # 100228–01 Session: 73233522

Charging Session Summary Plan Name Electrify America Pass Charging Price $0.64/kWh (pre-tax) Session Start Time 5:32:58 PM Session End Time 6:14:35 PM Charging Time 00:41:36 Idle Start Time 00:00:00 Idle Stop Time 00:00:00 Paid Idle Time 00:00 Grace Period 00:00 min End State of Charge 70% Max. Charging Speed 113 kW Total Energy Delivered 74.4002 kWh Energy Billed 74.4000 kWh Power Type DC

Charging Session Receipt Charging Cost $47.61 Idling Fee $0.00 ($0.40/min) Discount $0.00 Sales Tax (6.0%) $2.86 Total Paid: $50.47

 

[K6CCC]

@evowner You could have saved $5 bucks by buying the plus membership on that one charge session alone. Plus membership for a month would have been right about $12.00 less for the charge, minus the $7.00 monthly membership for a net savings of about $5.00. Any further use of the Plus membership for the month would have been pure savings.

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