EV Charging at Your Business: What It Costs and How to Offer It
Adding EV charging means weighing equipment and installation costs against how you'll use it — customer amenity, employee perk, or fleet charging — and understanding that charging load can trigger a demand charge on the electric bill. Level 2 chargers are the common, lower-cost choice for most businesses; DC fast charging costs much more but serves high-turnover locations better.
Level 2 vs. DC fast charging
Level 2 chargers are the most common commercial installation — cheaper hardware and installation, and well suited to locations where vehicles are parked for an hour or more anyway, like offices, hotels, apartment buildings, or retail centers. DC fast chargers cost substantially more to install (often requiring a larger electrical service upgrade) but can charge a vehicle in well under an hour, which fits businesses with fast customer turnover, like a highway-adjacent convenience store, better than Level 2 would.
How charging affects the electric bill
Beyond the straightforward cost of the electricity used, EV charging can push a business's peak demand higher, especially with DC fast chargers or several Level 2 units running simultaneously. On a rate structure with a demand charge, that peak — not just total energy used — can meaningfully raise the bill, so it's worth checking with the utility or an electrician about expected demand impact before installing multiple chargers.
Recovering the cost
Businesses typically handle cost recovery one of a few ways: charging customers directly per session or per kWh through the charger's own payment system, offering it as a free amenity to support dwell time or make a property more attractive to tenants or customers, or reimbursing employees or fleet drivers at a set per-kWh rate for charging done on-site. Which approach makes sense depends heavily on whether the charging is meant to generate revenue, retain customers, or simply support the business's own vehicles.
Incentives worth checking
Utility rebate programs, state grants, and federal tax credits for EV charging infrastructure exist in many areas and can meaningfully offset installation costs, though availability and amounts vary and change often — checking current programs with the local utility or a qualified installer before budgeting is worth the time.
What this means for your bill
The single most important step before installing anything is understanding your current demand charge exposure (if your rate has one) and how much headroom exists before new charging load pushes into a higher demand tier. A qualified electrician or the utility's business services team can typically model this before installation begins.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between Level 2 and DC fast charging for a business?
Level 2 chargers are cheaper to install and suit locations where vehicles park for a while — offices, hotels, retail. DC fast chargers cost significantly more but charge in minutes rather than hours, which fits high-turnover locations better.
Will adding EV chargers trigger a demand charge?
It can, especially with DC fast chargers or several Level 2 chargers running at once, since demand charges are based on the highest rate of electricity draw during a billing period rather than total usage.
How do businesses typically recover the cost of EV charging?
Common approaches include charging users directly per session or per kWh, treating it as a free amenity that supports dwell time or leasing appeal, or reimbursing at a set rate for employee or fleet charging.
See this on your own bill
Upload your business's bill and Certo reads it for you — a free bill health score and a plain-English breakdown of your current demand charge exposure.
Planning EV charging across multiple locations?
Certo for Business tracks usage and demand month over month, so you can see the real impact before and after new charging load goes in.