EV drivers frustrated by inconsistent prices, times at charging stations

As electric vehicle infrastructure develops across the country, consumers must navigate a confusing web of pricing models at charging stations, with some EV owners urging governments to increase regulation.

“It's not a straightforward charging pattern, so it's very complex,” said William York, president of the Electric Vehicle Association of Alberta. “It's difficult for the consumer to get price transparency when they're comparing charging stations of different charging operators. It's very hard, if not impossible, to do that math in your head.”

By 2026, Canada will mandate that 20 per cent of all vehicles sold must be EVs, a step towards a 100 per cent transition by 2035. Currently, Canada has roughly 20,000 charging stations countrywide and has dedicated $1.2 billion to building an additional 80,000 chargers over the next three years. While chargers are readily available in densely populated urban areas, gaps across rural areas make travelling long distances challenging.

Typically, charging stations bill on a “per unit time” basis, with customers charged a set rate per minute. This process is straightforward on paper, but EV owners are finding the wide variability of charging times results in some customers paying more for a charge than they intend to. “I find that a lot of the chargers don't seem to be delivering on the speed that they advertise,” said Julien Simard, who recently became an EV owner.

EVs don’t operate on a straight charging curve, meaning they accept more power toward the start of a charging session and less toward the end. Charging speeds are also impacted by the EV manufacturer. Older models, such as the Chevy Bolt, charge at 50 kilowatts per hour (kw/h), meaning it takes roughly an hour to charge the vehicle halfway. Next-generation models can charge up to seven times as fast. Weather conditions also factor in. EVs charge significantly slower in colder temperatures, a frequent issue in Canada’s chilly winter months.

Inconsistent pricing and charging times aren’t just issues of convenience. While at-home charging is available for many EV owners, refilling a vehicle can be a challenge for those living in apartments or condos.

“If we're able to enforce these companies to build more than one charger per location, especially when they're at shopping malls or all these other things, that will help people adopt EVs,” said Simard. “Specifically if people are living in apartment complexes or don't have access to a garage.”

Charging stations are run by a large network of private operators, providing energy at different rates depending on the amount an EV owner needs to refill and the time available to them. The variety of services also comes with different pricing models in the form of payment cards and apps, each exclusive to one of many charging stations.

“I know a lot of people, myself included, have an entire folder on their phone dedicated to all these apps. And there could be upwards of eight to 10 different apps just to start these tracking machines,” explained Simard.

Stephen Fung is another EV owner frustrated by the current pricing model. “The app issue is quite the quagmire at the moment. In the short term, it just really trips a lot of people off.”

The current time-based pricing model is in place as a way to sidestep regulation. A pricing model that charged purely on the amount of energy used during the charging session would come with increased regulation from Measurement Canada, the agency which oversees per-unit billing at gas stations. BC Hydro, one of the major operators of charging stations in B.C., recently announced it was increasing charging station pricing across the board, including changing a previously free Level 2 charge to three cents per minute. The change is a step towards future changes to the pricing model, with BC Hydro considering an energy-based pricing model.

Ron Burton, a spokesperson for the Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association, believes the best path is to introduce regulation favouring a combination of the existing pricing models. “The pure energy charging model will work to a certain degree and the time model works to a certain degree. But really, what you would like to have is a hybrid model.”

Hybrid pricing models have been introduced in a number of states in the U.S., allowing for billing based on the energy used for fast chargers, while retaining kw/h billing for slower chargers. They offer greater flexibility for station operators and consumers and allow the owners of newer and older EVs to get the most charge for the dollar.

With changes to the regulatory model still in the early stages, EV owners like Fung see ground-level communication and education as the best path forward. “Right now is the time for the community to step in and take care of each other. There's a little bit of that happening at the EV stations, but it shouldn't. It shouldn't have to be that way.”