Automotive News Guest commentary: The dynamic pricing roadblock in EV charging

Explore how dynamic pricing strategies could revolutionize electric vehicle charging networks by balancing operator margins, grid load and user satisfaction. In this guest commentary, CEO of S44 Energy, Olga Haygood breaks down the case for smart, real-time pricing models that adapt to demand, energy costs and station utilization—enabling scalable, reliable charging infrastructure.

Dynamic pricing is a strategy where the cost of a product or service varies based on a range of real-time or predetermined factors. For decades, airlines, gas stations and grocery stores have successfully deployed it to meet fluctuating demand and margins. In electric vehicle fast charging, dynamic pricing derived from the cost of electricity on the local power grid has the potential to reduce the strain on fragile utilities and improve charge point operator economics. Today, only 20 percent of public chargers leverage it.

The technology and interest are there, so why isn’t it the standard in the U.S.? A main roadblock is the fragmented, outdated systems that underpin U.S. electricity markets. There’s no universal way to feed real-time electricity prices into the cloud systems that power public EV charging networks. Until that changes, dynamic pricing will remain largely theoretical.

The case for real-time dynamic pricing

Real-time dynamic pricing adjusts the cost of EV charging based on demand response, electricity price adjustments by utilities that happen during the day to incentivize the use of electricity during off-peak hours. This can significantly reduce the strain on the grid, ultimately deferring or reducing the need for costly grid infrastructure upgrades. This approach is different from the fixed-rate pricing model EV drivers are used to, where they pay a constant price per kilowatt-hour or per minute of charging.

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