September 1, 2026 - Check the Price Before You Plug In

This is the Telemetry Transportation Daily for September 1, 2026, and I'm Sam Abuelsamid, Vice President of Market Research for Telemetry. 

A recent incident in Macomb Township, north of Detroit, should serve as a reminder to EV drivers to check prices before you plug in somewhere, but also to charger site hosts to be more transparent about your policies. Recently, a driver of a rented Chevrolet Bolt was running low on juice after dropping off a friend at the airport. He used the EVgo app to help find a nearby DC fast-charging station. EVgo has a roaming agreement with ChargePoint; the two companies show chargers from the other network in their respective apps. This driver pulled into the lot of Elder Hyundai and used the dealership's ChargePoint charger to replenish the car. He then got a bill for $418. It turns out that while the dealer had marked their charger as public, they really only wanted it to be used by the store and its customers, so they set pricing at $5/kWh and $5/min. ChargePoint's business model is that they manufacture and sell chargers and provide the connectivity, billing, and authentication for site hosts. The site hosts set their own prices for charging. Many retailers and businesses have Level 2 ChargePoint equipment that they provide as a customer amenity for no fee, while others charge anything from fair to exorbitant rates. 

Fortunately, EVgo provided this driver a goodwill refund of all but about $13, which was a fair price for charging the Bolt. But this should serve as a reminder to site hosts that if you want your charging equipment to be private, label it as such. Don't retroactively punish someone for using the equipment you've marked as public. 

For drivers, make sure to check the pricing before you charge. Most non-Tesla chargers have a display that will show the rates like a gas pump, or you can use the app for that charging network. Tesla chargers do not have displays or card readers, so you'll have to use their app. Mapping platforms like Google or Apple Maps will also show you all of the public chargers nearby with no limits on the network operator. If you're in Macomb Township and need a charge, there is a DC fast charger about two miles west of Elder Hyundai that has fast and truly public charging. 

Thanks for listening.