What does operating a site involve?
The first busy weekend. All eight bays are taken, two cars wait. One driver calls the hotline: the card reader does not respond.
In the operations centre, an operator sees the hub on one screen among hundreds.
The questionWhat does it take to keep a hub running, day after day?
An operator can run these tasks centrally for many sites.
Prices in public
At public charge points of 50 kW and more deployed since 13 April 2024, the price must be based on the price per kWh, and the price per kWh and any per minute must be shown at the station before a session starts. An occupancy fee is allowed to discourage cars from blocking a charger after charging.
Availability as the product
For drivers, a hub is only as good as the charger that works when they arrive. Operators can measure per charge point and track faults, as explained in Charging hardware, stop 08. The status data that requires makes every outage visible to every app.
Check your understanding
3 questions. Answer all of them to complete this stop. Each answer explains itself.
At a public 300 kW charger, what must be shown before the session starts?
AFIR, Article 5(4): price per kWh and any occupancy fee per minute, known before the session starts.
What is an occupancy fee for?
AFIR allows a price per minute to discourage long occupancy of the charge point.
Where possible, how is a charger fault handled first?
Digitally connected chargers can be diagnosed and restarted remotely. Site visits follow when parts must be replaced.
- Ad hoc Charging without a contract, paid directly at the charger, for example by card or QR code. EV charging fundamentals, stop 05 Glossary
- Uptime The share of time a charger was technically able to charge. EV charging fundamentals, stop 06 Glossary
- AFIR Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (EU) 2023/1804: EU rules for public charging, from payment to coverage. EV charging fundamentals, stop 08 Glossary
- Occupancy fee A price per minute that AFIR allows at charge points of 50 kW and more to discourage long occupancy. Glossary
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 (AFIR), Articles 3, 5 and 20 and recital 38. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1804/oj. Checked 09 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 (AFIR), Articles 3, 5 and 20 and recital 38. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1804/oj. Checked 09 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 (AFIR), Articles 3, 5 and 20 and recital 38. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1804/oj. Checked 09 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.