Fees & Tariffs Explained

Table of Contents

A Charging Point Operator (CPO) tariff is a pricing scheme for electric vehicle charging services offered by a CPO. CPOs own and operate electric vehicle charging stations and offer their services to electric vehicle drivers. The CPO tariff is the rate or fee that the CPO charges for the use of its charging station(s).

Tariffs

The CPO tariff can vary depending on the type of charging station, the location, charging speed and duration of the charging session. Some CPOs may offer flat rates, while others may charge based on the amount of energy used or the duration of the charging session.

These are tariffs set by the operator, and can be one or more of the following:

Connection tariff: a fixed amount per public charging transaction on the station.
Energy tariff: a certain amount per kWh for the energy consumed during a public charging transaction on the station.
Time tariff: a certain amount per minute for the duration of the public charging transaction.

When setting the charging stations to public, the CPO/ station owner offers their stations to be made available for EV drivers and it will be utilized via the eMSP. In return, the eMSP settles the transaction tariff with the CPO/ station owner.

Fees

Transaction fees are set by the CPOs and eMSPs based on the public charging offer. These can be additional margins and/or service fees for the usage of the platform or services. The combination of the tariff and the fees will be the price that the customer will pay for the charging session.

Tariff List

Last Mile Solutions’ CPO can configure a different tariff for each charging point but this is limited to the tariffslist as provided by Last Mile Solutions. We have currently over 700 different tariffs that you can choose from. Last Mile Solutions also provides the roaming partners (eMSPs) with this overview containing the EVSE id and the configured tariff.

View the CPO Tariff List

Charge Detail Record (CDR) creation

At the end of a charging session, the fees generated by the charging process are automatically calculated by Last Mile Solutions and transmitted digitally to the eMSPs within a CDR.

Please note, charging sessions that last less than 2 minutes or consume less than 0.1 kWh will not be billed, as agreed within eViolin standards. Incorrect charging sessions are transmitted to the eMSP as CDRs but are not subject to fees.

CDRs are sent to eMPS automatically after a session if the connection allows that. At the beginning of each month we are also sending the CDRs via csv files to eMSPs as part of the invoice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens when I change the tariff?

The CPO on the Last Mile Solutions network can change the tariff applied to each of its charging points. The change will be available immediately in EVC-net and will also be charged to accordingly. This is done by changing the tariff from one tariff to another from the predefined list. For instance: If you want to change the tariff on your charging point from 0.33 to 0.35 cent, the tariffid will be switched from K33 to K35.
This change is then communicated via our connections towards all the roaming partners and hubs.

The eMSPs are also requested to pull the pricing information per EVSE ID from the live-data stream on a regular basis to receive the correct tariff per charging point. In some cases, the tariffs are shared manually and each eMPS has their own internal procedure to set up the CPO tariff in their system.

Why can I not create any tariff I want?

The reasons why as a CPO on the Last Mile Solutions network you cannot set up any tariff you desire is coming from the fact that we have to communicate the correct tariff to all our roaming partners (eMSPs) in the correct timing. Some of these contracts state that we need to notify new tariffs at least 30 days in advance. Therefore we have chosen to create a long list with many common tariffs and communicate these in advance to all our partners. These tariffs will never change, we will only add new tariffs in due course.

By using any of the predefined tariffs, you can change the tariff on the charge point without having to adhere to this 30 day notification period.

My tariff is not on the list

The tariff list contains over 700 of the most used tariffs. Please check if any tariff is very close to the tariff you had in mind and choose that one. If you however have a tariff that is needed for a tender or a specific use case, and it is used for a large portion of your charge points (over 300 EVSEs), we can create a new custom tariff. Please be aware that we need to communicate this to our roaming partners and that a 30 day notification time does apply before you can start using it.

If I change the tariff, how long does it take to process the change at EVC-net?

The tariff change happens automatically. From the moment you publish a new tariff in EVC-net, you will see that the charge point will be updated with the new tariff immediately. However, the communication between the new tariff to other eMPs may happen manually, via hubs or P2P connections that may take some time to be fully processed.

If I change the tariff, how long does it take to be shared with technical hubs/eMSP roaming partners?

The tariff change happens automatically in our systems. From the moment you publish a new tariff in EVC-net, this change will be either communicated directly via P2P connections, be updated in our system and eMSPs will pull the data on a regular basis to make sure they can show the correct prices in their apps.

What happens if a provider changes a tariff, and the eMSP does not show the latest update? For example, a charge point that had a tariff price of 0.50/ kWh and now the same charge point has a tariff price of 0.55/kWh. If the driver still sees in the app the tariff price of 0.50/kWh, who is paying the extra 0.05 kWh? Does the EV driver get invoiced the 0.55 kWh or the 0.50/ kWh? What how much does the provider will receive?

This typically depends on the technical route between Last Mile Solutions and the roaming partner and the way the eMSP handles this with their customers. If the change has happened in our system, the CDRs created for any session after the change will be calculated with the new tariff. We expect our eMSP to also pay the CDR as was calculated.

The eMSP is responsible for showing the correct price and therefore the difference will be paid by the eMSP. The end user is responsible to check the price always before charging somewhere as prices can change all the time.

However if we see that there are systemic or technical errors between us and the roaming partner, it might be that the eMSP will contest the CDR. Last Mile Solutions will credit the difference only if we see that there were technical issues that could have been prohibited.

Can I support an idle / parking / overstaying fee?

It depends what you want to achieve with such a fee and how it can be used. Mostly you want drivers to leave the charging spot when they are full. The problem however is that there is no real standard that defines how to deal with such tariffs. Also this is hindered by the fact that most parties do not share the moment when the car is fully charged. This then results in CDRs that can not be recalculated and checked by the eMSP. Also the end user has no clue what he will pay upfront as there are many factors like smart charing, battery management etc. that are unknown to the end user that can influence the charging time. This make a tariff based on end of charge non-transparent to the end user. This is the reason why we do not want to offer such a tariff.

The best standard to use a tariff like this is to define a minute fee that will start from a certain moment after the start of the session. In this way both end user and eMSP can calculate what they are going to pay. You could state that after 360 minutes a fee of 0.05 per minute will be applied. An end-user then knows he has to come back in 6 hours if they want to avoid this fee.

The tariff is a lot higher or lower at an eMSP than was set on the charge point.

The eMSP is always responsible for setting the price on a charge point. The prices that are set on the charge point are wholesale prices, always without VAT. The eMSP can then choose to do whatever they want with that price, according to their business model.

So a price of 0.50 per kWh as a wholesale price, will mean that the eMSP needs to add at least VAT. They often also add a margin for themselves. This can be in the form of subscriptions, a margin per kWh, a fee per transaction, a start fee per session, additional hub fees or any other form. Some eMSP use a fixed fee per kWh per country for AC and DC.

It is up to the customer to decide which price model suits them best.

What can I do if I need assistance at a charging location?

Our local customer service are displayed at all charging stations. For trouble charging or any other support request simply call the provided number to receive immediate assistance.

If you want information about the price of charging on a specific charge point, always contact the eMSP that you or the end-user are using. Only they can determine the actual price that somebody will be paying for the charging session.

Updated on April 10, 2024

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