Guide to: Local authority chargepoint management

How to manage your chargepoints

Demand for electric vehicles will grow hugely in the coming years and local charging infrastructure will be vital for residents without driveways. If you are a local authority, read our guides on how to electrify your community and how to get started and access funding for chargepoints. Here, we provide some pointers around managing your chargepoint.

Summary

Managing your own public charging point is a great way to support those without off-street parking and boost use of local businesses, all while getting more people to drive cleaner vehicles. What’s better is, they can be very cost effective - thanks to generous government subsidies - and even provide recurring revenue for owners.

However, running a successful charging point day-to-day does require some ongoing work. The good news is, it can be very easy to manage a public charging point. This guide provides five top tips to help you as well as answers to common questions.

Five tips for managing your own charging point

1. Have a plan

If you’re a larger organisation, your plan may need to list people responsible for monitoring the chargepoint, key contacts and arrangements with maintenance firms (such as local electricians), plus how you will collect revenue from the charging point. If you’re an individual or sole operator, you may only need to have a relationship with an electrician.

While some owners make their chargers available for anyone to turn up and use, a solution used by many is Bookmycharge. It enables people to find, book and pay for a charging slot, this will help you manage chargepoints and collect revenue. Learn more here [LINK TO BMC WEBSITE].

2. Check-in and engage

As you would expect, people love businesses and organisations that meet their needs. In the EV community, nothing is more valuable than charging points that work. In a recent poll by England’s EV Association, 99% of respondents wanted to see a higher reliability standard by chargepoint operators.

You can keep your charger maintained by checking it regularly - both in person and using remote tools, such as ZapMap or Bookmycharge. When you do spot a problem or get some negative feedback, be sure to act on it quickly. If you can set a timeframe for fixing issues and provide interim alternatives it will be remembered by EV owners. By doing this, you will also prevent your charger going offline for too long without revenue.

3. Great customer service

It’s possible that people using your charger will require some help. You should ensure that there are clear, simple instructions available to motorists on how to use your chargepoint. This might mean placing a sign next to the chargepoint, adding a sticker, or providing details within an app.

You should also consider having a way for people to contact you in case they have any problems. This might simply mean knocking on your door, entering a shop, or ringing a helpline. Likewise, make sure you give people a way to provide you feedback. It’s one of the first things a lot of people look at when deciding which charging point to use.

4. Fulfil mandatory obligations

Depending on where your charging point is, be sure to check if there are any requirements on you as the owner. These could include getting it regularly tested by an electrician, passing usage data onto local authorities and government, or adding it to your insurance package.

If you’re not sure where to start, it’s best to contact whoever installed your charging point.

5. Emergency plan

Prepare for every scenario. This could mean knowing what to do if the charging point breaks or is vandalised, if it causes damage to someone or their property, or even if it's stolen - though, that’s probably unlikely. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail! Make sure you cover these sort of emergencies in your plan (tip 1).

How Bookmycharge can help you

Bookmycharge, often described as the Airbnb for EV charging, is a great way for individuals, businesses or communities to offer and find charging points in a local area. The free platform can facilitate both management and payment for using a charging point. This means all residents and visitors need to do is simply book a slot and they’ll get a guaranteed destination or near-home charging spot.