EVgo, Blink, Electrify America, ChargePoint and others offer DC Fast Charging (DCFC). Each bills differently for a charge. Some charge a connection fee and a fee per kWh. Others just charge per kWh. No one charge network is better than other in terms of what it costs to charge. When you need them, you need them, and you use them, paying what they demand.
Nearly all EV users charge nearly all the time at home. EVs are not gassers. You don’t have to go to a filling station. You “fill up” at home.
You only use DCFC when you are a long way from home. Then you need them and you pay what they cost to get to your destination. Over the course of a year, the costs are minuscule.
Last year we spent less than $100 buying 170 kWh from DCFC stations. We drove a total of 10,000 miles during the first year of leasing our Bolt, including trips where we charged at DCFC stations and others. (We did charge overnight at a few motels at 240 volts where the electricity was free and we charged a few nights where we had to pay a nominal fee.) We consumed 2,050 kWh at home. Thus, of our total charging for the year, DCFC stations accounted for less than 10%.
EV drivers keep the big picture in mind. Driving an EV is cheaper than driving a gasser, even when occasionally fast charging on a road trip.
We take a lot of road trips in our EV where we need to charge along the way. We never shop for the cheapest charger just as we never shopped for the cheapest gas on a road trip in a gasser. We find a convenient station, log-in to the charge network, and charge our car.
There’s an old adage that’s appropriate here: Penny wise and pound foolish. Drivers needn’t worry about buying electricity occasionally from a fast charger when they are saving so much throughout the year by charging at home.
