Your cheaper EV charging quote might be missing something

One quote's lower, but that doesn't mean it's better.

You really need to know which questions to ask when shopping for EV charging.

What are the network fees per port? Who claims the CARB credits? Who helps you when a station goes offline?

Four things to line up side by side:

1. The number of stations, and the reasoning behind it. Ask why that many stations. A property with 300 parking spaces and four EV drivers doesn't need ten stations on day one. Ask what happens when demand grows, and whether adding capacity later costs more than buying it now.

2. The monthly fees, per station and in total. Network fees are charged per station every month for as long as the stations exist. Ten stations and two stations produce very different numbers. Ask whether the rate is fixed for the term or whether it can be raised, and how much notice you would get.

3. Who is responsible once the stations are in the ground. Ask who you call, what their hours are, and what they are contractually obligated to do. Then ask how a fault gets reported, who goes out to the property, how quickly they get there, and who pays for the visit. Installation is a project with an end date, and everything after it is what matters most.

4. The credits and the warranty. Ask who claims the CARB credits and where those payouts land, because that revenue does not automatically come back to the property. Then ask what the warranty actually covers, and whether labor and the service call are included or only the replacement part.

   
   

This is infrastructure, not just a purchase

A quote is one number on one day. The fees underneath it run for as long as the stations are in the ground, so the quote that looks cheaper today can end up being the more expensive one over the life of the stations.

The equipment also outlasts the person who signs for it. It sits in your parking lot through leasing cycles, staff changes and sometimes a change of ownership, and whoever is managing the property in five years inherits the decision being made currently.

That's worth reading both proposals more slowly than the price alone suggests.

Why we tell you to ask us these questions too

REVS owns hundreds of the stations we manage. When one of them stops working, that is our problem before it is yours, which is a very different position from a company whose involvement ended on the day the concrete set.

It is also why we will not sell you ten stations you do not need. We are the ones supporting them afterward.

If you have quotes in front of you now, a due diligence report tells you what your property can actually support before you commit to either one. If you would rather just talk it through, contact REVS and we will go through the proposals with you.