At Rs 8.40 per kWh for commercial electricity in BESCOM's jurisdiction, an operator with 8 x 7.4 kW AC chargers at a corporate park needs Rs 14 to 16 per kWh to remain above break-even after lease, platform fees, and a modest maintenance budget. Price below that and each session is subsidised. Price much higher and drivers may choose home charging instead.
EV charging has a narrow pricing gap: the cost floor is visible, while the competitive ceiling comes from driver alternatives outside your control. We outline pricing models based on what has worked across our pilot network.
Cost Stack Before Setting a Price
Before choosing a billing model, calculate your actual cost per kWh dispensed, not just the electricity-bill tariff. The tariff is only the starting point.
Commercial electricity in major Indian metros generally costs Rs 7 to Rs 11 per kWh, depending on the DISCOM, sanctioned load category, and LT or HT supply. BESCOM commercial LT tariff has been in the Rs 7.80 to Rs 8.60 range. Add the fixed demand charge tied to sanctioned kVA and the effective rate rises.
Next, account for utilization. At only 40% occupied hours, electricity cost per kWh dispensed exceeds the tariff because fixed costs, including lease, maintenance, and platform subscription, are spread over fewer sessions. An Rs 8/kWh tariff with 40% utilization can mean an effective cost closer to Rs 13 to 14 per kWh after all costs. Pricing therefore depends on utilization forecasts.
Map these cost components first:
- Electricity tariff (per kWh billed by DISCOM)
- Monthly demand charges by sanctioned kVA
- Software subscription, usually per charger monthly
- Site lease or host revenue share
- Maintenance contract or self-service labor estimate
- Payment gateway fees, typically 1.5 to 2.5%
Per-kWh Pricing: A Defensible Public Charging Model
Per-kWh pricing is transparent and easy for drivers to compare across networks. They understand it like petrol priced per litre and pay for exactly what they consume.
This model requires a charger energy meter calibrated and traceable to a recognized standard. Most OCPP-compliant AC chargers report energy through MeterValues messages during the session, but granularity differs. Some report only a final accumulated reading at StopTransaction, limiting evidence if a dispute occurs mid-session.
Per-kWh pricing aligns payment with energy: drivers who charge more pay more, and operators delivering more energy earn more. At a corporate park or mall with typical sessions of 3 to 6 hours, revenue is distributed fairly between short and long sessions.
In some states, DISCOM regulations require electricity resale to follow licensed distribution rules. Captive premises, such as a single office building or gated community, are generally more permissive under the Electricity Act 2003. Check with your local DISCOM before per-kWh billing for third parties outside your premises.
Per-Minute Pricing: Simpler Operations, Less Clear Economics
Per-minute billing removes metering complexity. The timer starts when authorized and ends when the cable disconnects. No MeterValues parsing or calibration question.
Per-minute pricing is not neutral across vehicle types. A two-wheeler with a 1.3 kWh battery charges in under 30 minutes on a 7.4 kW charger. A sedan with a 40 kWh battery and a 7.4 kW on-board charger takes about 5 hours at the same site. At Rs 2 per minute, the sedan pays 10x more overall but roughly the same per kWh, while the two-wheeler pays a high effective per-kWh rate because its session is short.
At a mixed-vehicle public site, per-minute pricing can frustrate two-wheeler users and undercharge four-wheeler users for the energy consumed. It can suit a uniform fleet with predictable vehicle types and session durations, while simplifying billing reconciliation.
Flat Session Pricing: For Specific Contexts
A flat session fee ignores duration and energy. Plug in, pay Rs 50, and unplug when you like.
This works with uniform vehicles, bounded sessions, and ample charger availability. It breaks down when a driver can leave a car connected for 10 hours at the price of a 2-hour session. At high-demand sites, flat fees almost always encourage charger blocking.
Corporate fleet operators sometimes use flat session pricing when they have dedicated parking bays and the IT department wants one simple monthly accounts line item. That context is suitable. Mixed-use public charging creates incentive problems.
Fleet and Subscription Rates
For operators serving fleet companies with predictable monthly volumes, subscriptions can smooth revenue. A fleet operator running 20 vehicles through your site daily may prefer a fixed monthly fee covering a defined number of kWh or sessions over per-event billing.
Subscription pricing depends on careful utilization modelling. A 500 kWh monthly plan at an implied Rs 12/kWh rate loses money if the fleet uses 800 kWh. Add a usage cap and overage rate. Fleet agreements commonly use tiers: a base monthly commitment at a preferred rate, with overage at the standard per-kWh rate.
What Happens After Launch
Before launching 8 AC chargers across two basement parking levels at a corporate complex in Bengaluru, a fleet operator in a major IT corridor considered Rs 10/kWh to attract users. Their mapped cost stack, including the 18-month property lease and platform fee, showed Rs 10/kWh was negative below 60% utilization. They launched at Rs 14/kWh without noticeably weaker adoption. Drivers valued charger availability and reliable session start more than saving Rs 40 on a full charge.
The pattern is broad: price sensitivity matters at the extremes, but within Rs 12 to Rs 18/kWh for AC charging at commercial sites, drivers more often complain about session failures and blocked chargers than the per-kWh rate.
Pricing Requires Ongoing Review
DISCOM rate revisions can change your electricity tariff. Utilization changes as more drivers find the site. Nearby chargers also alter the competitive landscape.
We are not saying operators should avoid price changes. We are saying operators in this network have found that quarterly reviews of cost and utilization address the actual bottleneck. When the approach is working, the data shows healthy margins, utilization trends, and a timely response to material shifts, rather than electricity dispensed below cost for two years.