A Michigan driver was charged $418 after plugging a rental Chevrolet Bolt EV into a charger at a Hyundai dealership in Macomb Township for just 44 minutes. The unusually high bill was not the result of a technical error, but of the dealership’s charging rates.
Why the Charging Session Cost $418
According to WXYZ News, Stanley Kpenkann found the charger through the EVgo app and connected the Bolt for 44 minutes. When the session ended, he received a $418 bill based on the dealership’s pricing.
The Hyundai dealership said its unusually high rates were intended to discourage members of the public from using a charger reserved for its customers and vehicles.
The station charged $5 per kWh, compared with a current U.S. public-charging average of $0.423 per kWh, according to AAA. Michigan’s average is $0.399 per kWh.
The dealership also charged an additional $5 per minute. Such a fee could discourage drivers from keeping their vehicles connected for long periods, especially because charging slows as a battery gets closer to full.
With both fees applied, Kpenkann’s 44-minute charging session produced a bill of more than $400. The cost was particularly striking given that the Chevrolet Bolt is a small, relatively efficient electric hatchback whose direct competition is the Nissan Leaf.
Why the Charger Appeared in the EVgo App
EVgo said the charger appeared in its app through a roaming agreement with ChargePoint, whose name was displayed on the charging equipment.
The dealership, however, owned the charging station and controlled its pricing. That distinction became a key part of the dispute over the unexpectedly expensive session.
Kpenkann questioned why the dealership would make the charger visible through a public charging app while also trying to discourage public use.
“It makes no sense for you to have it on the app and say, ‘No, we don’t want everybody to use it because of private use.’ Then make it private; don’t make it public,” Kpenkann said.
EVgo Issues a $405 Goodwill Refund
After Kpenkann contacted EVgo about the bill, the charging network ultimately issued what it described as a “goodwill refund” of about $405.
The refund reduced Kpenkann’s remaining charge to $13.27, which represented what the session would have cost under his subscription plan.
Kpenkann thanked the news outlet for bringing attention to the incident, saying the publicity likely helped him receive the refund.
Why EV Drivers Should Check Charging Prices
The incident demonstrates how significantly EV charging costs can vary from one station to another, particularly when chargers impose both per-kilowatt-hour and per-minute fees.
For EV drivers, the episode underscores the importance of checking a station’s displayed pricing before starting a charging session, even when the charger is listed on a public charging app.
