25 states plus the District of Columbia now use kWh-based pricing on the network.
Electrify America announced today that customers in Florida and Virginia will now pay by the amount of energy used to charge their vehicle, instead of paying by the amount of time they use the charging equipment.
By adding Florida and Virginia to the list of states where the network utilizes its new kWh-based pricing, Electrify America has now moved 25 states, plus the District of Columbia, off of its original time-based pricing system.
Back in May, we were the first to report that Electrify America was transitioning to a kWh-based pricing scheme, and last month the network began the process of switching over, state by state.
We’re implementing the new pricing where we’re allowed. The good news is, we are also creating a lot of awareness with the other states and I believe we’re going to see some of those states following. – Giovanni Palazzo, President, and CEO of Electrify America
At the time we spoke with Electrify America’s CEO and President, Giovanni Palazzo and he assured us that it’s the network’s ultimate goal to have kWh-based pricing for the entire network, but that will take some time.
Currently, most of the states that allow EV charging networks to charge by the kWh have already been switched over by Electrify America. The states that do allow kWh-based and haven’t been switched over yet will be, in the near future.
However, there are some states that do not allow any entity other than utilities to charge for electricity and Electrify America has no choice but to charge by time in those states. Electrify America is working with regulators in those areas to have the laws changed, but that will obviously take some time to accomplish. That’s actually the main reason why Electrify America started out with time-based billing; because they didn’t want to have different pricing methods in different areas of the country.
Before adding Florida and Virginia, Electrify America told us that the 23 states plus the District of Columbia that were initially switched over to kWh-based pricing were responsible for more than 78% of use on the Electrify America network. Now, with Florida and Virginia on kWh-based pricing, we can imagine the percentage is most likely close to 85%.
That would mean only about 15% of the network’s customers will continue to pay by the amount of time they remain tethered to the charger, even though 25 states remain on the time-based plan. Electrify America is clearly prioritizing the states that have higher utilization for the earlier transition.
We’ll stay on top of this topic, and let you know as soon as we know when more states are added to the list. Until then, let us know your thoughts on Electrify America’s network and pricing in the comment section below.
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