Electrify America is making two important changes to its prices. Here’s what you need to know.
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Electrify America’s prices have in the past been either uniform energy usage pricing or time-based pricing depending on the location. Of course, if you have a discount or free charging plan courtesy of your vehicle’s manufacturer or some other altruistic entity, your charging may be at no cost. Coming soon, the way Electrify America customers are charged will change.
Related Story: Public EV Charger Price Increases Mean It's Now Cheaper To Power a Gas Car
Idle Fees At Electrify America
If we have one pet peeve at Torque News about public charging, it would be an EV owner who hogs the spot by continuing to leave their car in the space after charging has been completed. The new plan for pricing brings back Electrify America’s policy of penalizing these selfish EV owners.
We reached out to Electrify Amerca, and the company was kind enough to respond with some specifics on the plan. A company spokesperson told Torque News, "Customers who do not unplug and move their vehicle 10-minutes after their charging session has ended will incur an idle fee of $0.40 per minute. Idle fees are easily prevented if customers use the Electrify America mobile app to track their charge session and set up an alert when charging is complete." This seems like a very sensible plan, in the opinion of this EV tester.
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Station-Specific Charging
Starting on August 17, 2023, Electrify America says that it will shift from uniform energy or time-based pricing nationwide to a station-specific pricing model. Pricing will be transparent. Electrify America's mobile app will have pricing information for each specific charger, and customers should check the pricing of a charging station at the charger when they start charging. With prices for DC fast charging now at around $0.50 per kWh in many locations nationwide, fast charging has become more expensive than energizing a gas-powered car in some cases. We look forward to using the new App to report on the prices EA charges at its various locations.
Prior Reporting: Charging an Electric Vehicle In Public Can Cost Triple What Fueling Up a “Gas-Guzzler” Does
Act Now To Save On Electrify America EV Charging
With these changes to the pricing model Electrify Americ uses, now is a perfect time to upgrade to an Electrify America Pass+ membership. The plan allows members to save 25% on charging. If you have not already done so, check out Tesla’s newly-opened Supercharger locations to see if any are near you. You don't need to drive a Tesla to use them anymore. And, of course, install your own home EV charger to ensure that you do not overpay when on a road trip and do not lean on the public charger infrastructure unnecessarily.
Image courtesy of Electrify America.
John Goreham is an experienced New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can follow John on Twitter, and connect with him at Linkedin.
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