When must the price be shown?
Before plugging in, the driver checks two prices: the one on the charger's screen and the one in the app of the card provider.
They differ. Both were visible before charging started.
The questionWho has to show which price, and when?
| What | Where | When | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator, 50 kW and moread hoc price | per kWh and any fee per minute | at the charging station | before the session |
| Operator, under 50 kWad hoc price | all price components | clearly and easily available | before the session |
| Mobility service providercontract price | all components, incl. roaming costs | electronically, freely available | before the session |
The operator rules for 50 kW and more apply to charge points deployed from 13 April 2024; those below 50 kW apply to all public charge points.
Two prices, one session
The charger shows the operator's price. The app shows the provider's price for the driver's contract. They can differ, and both must be known before charging starts. Providers must list all , including applicable e-roaming costs, and may not add extra charges for cross-border e-roaming.
Why drivers at the same charger pay different prices is the subject of EV charging fundamentals, stop 05.
How the screen gets the price
At a fast charger, the price per kWh and any have to appear on the station's display. 2.0.1 offers a standard command to set display messages; with OCPP 1.6, a customisation does the same.
Check your understanding
3 questions. Answer all of them to complete this stop. Each answer explains itself.
Where must the ad hoc price of a 150 kW charger be shown?
AFIR, Article 5(4): at the station, so it is known before the session starts.
What must a mobility service provider show before a session?
Article 5(5): all price information for that session, through freely available electronic means.
May a provider charge extra for charging in another EU country?
Article 5(5): providers shall not apply any extra charges for cross-border e-roaming.
- OCPP Open Charge Point Protocol: the open protocol between a charger and its operator's backend. EV charging fundamentals, stop 03 Glossary
- Ad hoc Charging without a contract, paid directly at the charger, for example by card or QR code. EV charging fundamentals, stop 05 Glossary
- Occupancy fee A price per minute that AFIR allows at charge points of 50 kW and more to discourage long occupancy. Charging infrastructure, stop 07 Glossary
- Price components The parts of a charging price: per kWh, per minute, per session and any other; AFIR sets the order in which they are shown at charge points below 50 kW. Stop 01 Glossary
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 (AFIR), Article 5(1) to (5). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1804/oj. Checked 13 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 (AFIR), Article 5(1) to (5). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1804/oj. Checked 13 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
- Open Charge Alliance: AFIR and OCPP, white paper v1.0, January 2024: ad hoc payment and pricing. https://openchargealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ocpp_and_afir-white-paper.pdf. Checked 09 Oct 2026. Licence: CC BY-ND 4.0.