Pubic charging rates

[MOE J]

So I went on a 3.5 hour trip and on return trip decided to check out charge point public chargers and few others. The rates are like the wild Wild West. Some charge by the hour, others by quantity and every city has a different rate ?. No consistency .These were level 2 (7.5 kWh or lower) slow chargers. Could not find any free chargers………accept in my city (Windsor). No discounts for after midnight charging and lots of non user friendly payment options. I guess I’m lucky there are still free charging stations in Canada.

 

[RayK]

1. Electricity rates are not universally the same across any large region.
2. Not all charging stations are owned / operated by non-profit organizations.
3. Some states here in the US charge by time, instead of kWh, by law. According to Blink, "As of October 1, 2023, every US state except Michigan, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Wisconsin has passed the legislation needed to redefine a utility and allow kWh pricing."
4. There could be city / county regulations which prevent per kWh-based cost.
5. Free L2 charging stations are typically located in shopping centers / malls / town centers where there's something that attracts people to stay awhile (and spend money).

If you're specifically looking for free charging stations, use one of the apps which can filter stations and only show free ones. I believe PlugShare and ChargeHub can do this.

 

[karkrazy]

OP is in Canada… so diff rules and requirements apply