Hey all, I’m trying to get a clear answer on this.
As far as I know, most states now allow reselling electricity by the kWh, but in the EA app, I still see info on pricing by kWh vs. by the minute. All the stations near me charge per kWh, and I can’t find any in the app that explicitly say they charge by the minute. So, does anyone know of any stations in their area that are still doing per-minute pricing?
Why would anyone want to be charged by the minute? You’d end up paying the same rate whether you’re charging fast or slow. The last 20% always takes longer, so per-minute pricing would just make that more expensive.
@Imani
Speaking from experience here in Wisconsin, I drive an Ioniq 5 and rarely charge past 80% at EA stations. My charging costs jumped from under $10 to $40+ per session when they switched from per-minute to per-kWh pricing. I have free EA charging, so it doesn’t impact me now, but it definitely cost me less before.
@Imani
In Wisconsin, it used to be that only electric companies could sell electricity per kWh, so stations had to charge per minute. I think they changed it to qualify for federal funding for more stations.
@Imani
I’m not pushing for it to return! I just found the info in the app confusing because it mentions per-minute pricing, but I couldn’t find any stations still using it. With the law changes in most states, I was curious if any stations were still doing it.
@Imani
If you have a fast-charging car, finding a per-minute EA station used to be a lot cheaper—as long as you stop around 80-85% when the charging curve drops.
I think they switched the last per-minute stations around Labor Day this year. That’s when the ones I watch in the Northeast, South Dakota, and Wisconsin made the change.
martin said:
I think they switched the last per-minute stations around Labor Day this year. That’s when the ones I watch in the Northeast, South Dakota, and Wisconsin made the change.
Charging by the minute wasn’t great for people with slower-charging cars like the Leaf or Bolt. Those drivers are often in shared housing where home charging isn’t an option, so it wasn’t fair to them.
izael said:
EA sent out an email saying they’re phasing out time-based pricing in favor of kWh rates. A few states still haven’t made the switch yet, though.