High-Power EV Charging Stations Lead in TOU Rate Adoption

Fast charging station operators in the US use time-of-use (TOU) rates at a significantly higher percentage for DCFC stations with chargers of 201 kW power or higher. This is a finding of a recent analysis of our Paren DCFC charging station pricing data.

TOU rates are especially common in high-utilization markets such as California, and busy metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in several states.

There are two main reasons for the growth in use of TOU rates: First, in some high-utilization markets, CPOs are seeing drivers having to queue during peak mid-day and early evening hours. Secondly, electricity costs are higher in the afternoon and early evening during these same peak utilization hours, leading to extremely costly utility demand charges.

As a result, CPOs use TOU rates to help reduce congestion and to incentivize EV drivers to charge during non-peak hours when profit margins are actually higher due to the lower energy costs.

EVgo actually uses TOU rates at 100% of its stations (they have rolled out TOU to all EVgo native chargers, regardless of power level). Tesla is using the TOU pricing approach at 88% of its Urban Charger stations.

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By Loren McDonald, Paren Chief Analyst