Anyone charging publicly rarely pays the kWh price shown on the charger.

Between the charger and your invoice sits the charging card provider, who adds surcharges, own rates or session fees. At exactly the same charging point, one driver therefore pays noticeably more than another, while the electricity comes from the same plug.

We deliberately do not publish a rate table: it is outdated within the quarter. What does hold up is the calculation method.

The kWh rate is only part of the story

The rate on the charger or in the app is the starting point. The final price per kWh is often noticeably higher, and that difference does not arise in the kWh rate itself. Three elements explain most of the spread.

01

Session or start fee

A fixed amount per charging session, regardless of how much you charge.

Key takeaway: on a short stop of a few kWh, that weighs heavily.
02

Time surcharge

A per-minute rate on top of the kWh rate, especially with DC fast charging.

Key takeaway: staying plugged in after charging costs considerably more.
03

Roaming margin

If you charge with a card that works through a foreign partner, a margin is added on top of the local operator rate. What that costs per year: hidden costs of public charging for fleets.

Calculate it on your own profile

The difference between the most expensive and the cheapest card depends entirely on your consumption mix: how much at home, how much public AC, how much DC.

  1. Take the sessions of a full monthFrom your charging card reporting.
  2. Recalculate them per candidate cardAt each card’s all-in rate, surcharges included.
  3. Multiply by twelveThat is the only calculation that is right for your fleet.
Which charging card pays off most for your fleet?Our fleet specialist analyses your driving profiles and calculates the annual savings.
Get the calculation

The paradox: one card is rarely the best choice

One card is rarely the cheapest on all segments at once: public AC, DC up to 50 kW and DC from 150 kW. A card with a sharp AC rate is often more expensive at fast chargers, and vice versa. A card with a low DC rate sometimes has a session fee that makes AC charging unattractive. For fleets with mixed use, there are two options:

Option 1Dual-card strategyOne card for regular use, one as a back-up for atypical use.
Option 2Weighted choiceExplicitly weighted on your expected consumption profile, not on the provider’s rate table.

How do you compare yourself?

  • Ask for rate tables for at least three segments: public AC, DC up to 50 kW and DC from 150 kW.
  • Ask explicitly whether session, start or time surcharges apply, and from when they count.
  • Ask whether the rate depends on the operator or location, domestic versus roaming.
  • Calculate it on your own consumption profile, not on an average “typical driver”.

What this means for fleet managers

Choosing a charging card is not an administrative detail. For a fleet of ten cars or more, the difference between a good and a bad choice quickly adds up to more than your entire annual maintenance budget.

Certipower delivers that analysis itself. With Certipower charging cards and reporting in Certitool, you see per driver, per session and per operator what you actually pay. That is also the basis for reducing public charging in favour of home charging with split billing.

InstallAt the employee’s home, on the company site and on the road.
MeasureConsumption per user and per location, without estimates.
Split billingYour employee pays nothing upfront and submits no receipts. How split billing works
My.CertipowerPublic and home charging per driver, per session and per operator.

More about our public charging card. Read also charging cards for companies in Europe and cost of home charging versus public charging.

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Which charging card strategy suits your fleet?

We analyse your driving profiles and calculate what you can save per year.

  • Analysis of your charging sessions per driver
  • Comparison per segment: AC, DC up to 50 kW, DC from 150 kW
  • Annual savings in euros
Schedule a call+32 51 15 30 15
Prefer email? sales@certipower.be
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