How Do Public EV Charging Stations Work?

Public EV charging stations are operated by private companies like Charge Zone, Statiq, Zeon, Tata Power, Glida, Nikol EV, and many more, as well as by the central and state governments. Even electric car brands like Hyundai and MG install charging stations at their service centers and in public places. You will mostly find them at restaurants, shopping malls, airports, resorts, and in commercial areas within and outside cities, particularly along highways.

Unlike fuel pumps, these stations are not manned by anyone to help you charge your electric car, meaning you have to operate the stations on your own using their respective charging apps. However, they are simple to use. In this blog, we will show you how they work so that the next time you need to charge your car, you can do so without any hesitation.

The process begins with finding a charging station near you; however, installing every app to locate them can be cumbersome. Therefore, we suggest using aggregator apps like EVJoints to find stations near you. You can discover stations along with information such as the type and number of chargers available, the number of plugs, charging point supply power, tariff rates, and contact details to check if the station is available for charging.

Upon reaching a charging station, you will see one or multiple chargers and charging points, allowing more than one electric car to charge simultaneously. Some stations will only have fast chargers, while others will have both fast and slow chargers. You can easily identify them, as the types are clearly labeled on the respective chargers.

Once you select a particular charger, install the relevant EV charging app, register yourself, and scan the barcode at the charging point where you intend to charge. The app will then prompt you for the following information: how much you want to charge. You can input this either by specifying the percentage of battery you wish to charge, the amount, the units, or the duration. After entering one of these parameters, the other will automatically update.

Next, you will need to add money to your wallet using methods such as UPI, credit card, debit card, or net banking. After payment, you will be asked to plug the charging gun into the selected charging point, followed by an action button like “Proceed Charging.” Click the button, and the charging begins. You can monitor the live status on the app as well as on your car’s infotainment screen. You can either wait at the station until your car is charged or enjoy the nearby amenities while checking the charging status on the app.

Scan the barcode and download the EVJoints app to find 6,000 EV charging stations across various networks.

Click & download the EVJoints app to find 6,000 charging stations.

Once your car is charged, you will receive a notification to unplug it so that the next EV owner can charge their vehicle.

If you wish to stop charging midway, simply open the app and stop the session. You will only be charged for the kWh you have used; the rest will be refunded to your bank account within 3-4 days.

Isn’t it simple? This is how charging stations work across India. Some charging stations allow you to book charging slots in advance, which can be useful if you know you will be reaching the station ahead of time. This way, you can plan your pit stops in advance. With the evolving technology in the EV sector, we hope to see even more simplicity in the future, such as just scanning and charging without needing to install multiple apps. Unified apps like EVJoints can help you locate charging stations, charge your vehicle, and make payments across different charging networks, eliminating the need to install multiple apps.