California Ends By-the-Minute Billing for EV Charges

California will now charge electric vehicle fueling by the amount of energy dispensed when visiting an EV charging station rather than billing by the minute and will take effect at the start of 2020.

The California Office of Administrative Law approved amendments to its EV fueling systems that bans public charging operators from billing by the minute, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).

“The unit of measure of electricity as motor vehicle fuel dispensed from EVSE shall be measured by – either the kWh or the megajoule (MJ),” according to changes to proposed regulation by the CDFA.

The department found that the primary commodity delivered by electric vehicle supply equipment is electricity, not parking space accessibility, parking space rental time, or accessibility to the equipment, according to the CDFA.