The City of Richmond is changing its public electric vehicle (EV) charging station pricing model from time-based to energy-based starting July 24.
The reasoning behind it is to not only align with regional EV charging standards but also to improve fairness for EV drivers, according to the city.
Richmond has used time-based pricing for EV charging since 2020, whereby users are charged based on how long their vehicle is connected to a charger, regardless of the amount of electricity consumed.
This was adopted to promote the efficient use of charging stations when federal regulations did not allow billing by energy use.
Federal regulations changed in 2023 and now allow EV charging providers can charge users based on actual electricity usage.
This means users pay only for the energy they use, which gets rid of cost discrepancies between fast and slow charging vehicles.
Vehicles with slower charging speeds, such as older EVs or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, often pay more per kilowatt-hour (kWh) than faster-charging models.
“Switching to energy-based pricing reflects Richmond’s commitment to equitable and accessible electric vehicle charging,” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie in a press release.
“By aligning fees with actual energy use, we’re creating a fairer system for all drivers while supporting the broader shift to zero-emission transportation.”
City-owned public EV level-two chargers will be billed at $0.29 per kWh, while level-three fast chargers will be billed at $0.35 per kWh.
An idle fee will be implemented after a five-minute grace period if a vehicle is parked in an EV spot but is not actively charging. The idle fee will be five cents per minute at level-two charging stations, between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.
There will be no idle fees for level-two chargers outside these hours.
There will be a 40-cent per minute idle fee at all level-three stations at all hours.
For more information, visit the City of Richmond website here.
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