For Charge Point Operators (CPOs) developing and operating EV charging sites at commercial property locations, such as retail, hospitality, residential rentals and more, providing operational excellence is critical to create a positive experience for both EV drivers and commercial property owners. To achieve this, CPOs need to prioritize network health, customer service support, and superior energy management. By enforcing all three, CPOs can develop driver loyalty while generating revenue for their profit-sharing partnerships at commercial locations.
Over the past year, electric vehicle (EV) charging ports have grown significantly across a variety of businesses, including retail and grocery stores, hospitality locations, and commercial real estate properties. The growth is widespread, when you consider charging ports are now available in 26% of hospitality locations such as hotels in the United States. In Europe, 28% of all public charge points can be found within 100 meters of stores, highlighting the trend for retailers to install EV charging ports.
For Charge Point Operators (CPOs), many opportunities exist to target these locations. CPOs can work with these commercial owners to future-proof their business, bringing the necessary hardware and software required to run a successful EV charging operation seamlessly. Operational excellence is key for CPOs to maintain both happy commercial customers and loyal EV drivers. Planning to keep chargers online while strategically managing energy on-site ensures commercial customers will be satisfied with the installed EV charging infrastructure on their properties.
Smart EV charging and energy management solutions can help CPOs maximize the utilization and uptime of EV charging networks by monitoring network health, providing instant customer support, and providing the controls needed for on-site energy management and optimization.
The benefits of adding EV charging to a retail or hospitality location
Established commercial locations such as a retail store or hotel are often situated in well-traveled areas and have ample foot traffic. For CPOs in the U.S. and Europe, these locations offer the opportunity to bring EV charging infrastructure to vehicles that will be idle for a period of time while drivers shop or stay for an extended amount of time. For retail and hospitality business owners, the benefits include new revenue opportunities, an increase in traffic from EV drivers looking to charge, and an enhanced customer experience with new amenities.
Maintain Network Health & Identify Issues Quickly
In order for CPOs to provide the highest level of service for their commercial customers, the ability to monitor network health in real-time is absolutely necessary. To maximize charger stability and availability, CPOs need to address issues as they arise, preferably, remotely, and not rely on in-person maintenance crews or field technicians which can cause further delays. With the right smart EV charging and energy management software platforms, auto-detection and self-healing algorithms can address charger issues remotely and automatically.
Hardware agnostic solutions should also be prioritized, as q CPOs operating a charging network at various commercial sites may add a variety of chargers. The ability for a smart EV charging solution to scale with the business ensures new chargers can be easily added and new roaming partners can be onboarded. Software that is compliant with industry communication standards such as the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP), enables interoperability. This ensures CPOs have flexibility as they scale, network stability, reducing the chances of being locked in with one vendor.
Offer Remote 24/7/365 Customer Service Support
To maintain optimal EV charging experience for EV drivers, end-to-end customer support solutions are key.. With the right EV charging software provider CPOs can access Level 1 (L1) and Level 2 (L2) support services to ensure drivers can engage with operational chargers. This level of driver support is necessary when you consider regulations such as the Public Charge Point Regulations in the U.K. which states that all public charge point operators must offer a 24/7 customer help line to support growing demand for improved customer charging experience.
By providing access to internationally located call centers to bring 24/7/365 follow-the-sun support, charger issues can be resolved remotely and automatically as drivers encounter them. This includes common problems such as payment and refund issues or charging malfunctions. Leading EV charging network operators are implementing such solutions across the United States, including Greenspot, who recently announced a partnership with Driivz who will provide L1 support services to support drivers’ charging experience with such features, allowing the organization to scale its operations to additional commercial site owners.
L1 & L2 Support Services for EV Charging: What’s Included
| Level 1 (L1) – 24/7 Call Center
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Level 2 (L2) – Network Operations Center
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Troubleshoot common problems such as:
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Proactive monitoring & maintenance of charger network:
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Provide Better On-site Energy Management
For CPOs who develop, own, and operate EV charging sites across commercial properties, supporting those landowners with energy management solutions can prevent the need for costly infrastructure upgrades with better on-site energy oversight. This oversight can reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO), enabling profit sharing between both the CPO and the commercial property landlord.
Energy management software solutions allow CPOs to use dynamic load balancing with peak-shaving controls to accommodate up to 6x the EV charging on site, and do so without increasing site electrical capacity. Avoiding excess demand charges are critical to save on energy costs, and by never exceeding the site’s contracted peak demand, CPOs and their commercial customers can maintain profitability. This is only achieved with the ability to closely monitor and adjust energy distributed for EV charging at every level on site.
On-site Energy Management
Conclusion
Operational excellence in EV charging must be all encompassing. From the network’s stability and availability, to the customer experience, to energy management controls, each pillar will allow CPOs to grow their networks. Software solutions are the first line of defense in maintaining operational stability and efficiency to support the current and future needs of the business. Identifying scalable, intelligent and integrated solutions that enable CPOs to effectively manage their networks and provide drivers with an exceptional EV charging experience will drive the business forward.
