T&E Urges EU to Mandate Price Transparency in Charging Regulation
Proposal limits public charging prices to three standardized components and requires clear display of all fees before charging begins.
The European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E) is calling for significant revisions to the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) to enforce price transparency and competition in the EU public charging network.
What Happened
T&E recommends that the upcoming revision of AFIR standardize public charging prices into three specific components: the charging price in euros per kilowatt-hour, standardized idle or overstay fees from Charging Point Operators (CPOs), and any commercial fees charged by Mobility Service Providers (MSPs). The proposal requires that all price components and conditions, including pre-authorization and overstay fees, be clearly displayed in a standardized format before each charging session begins.
Additionally, T&E urges regulators to mandate that ad-hoc charging prices be clearly indicated and that subscription-free standard card payments be enabled at all physical public chargers. To prevent hidden markups, the final MSP price must always be displayed alongside the base ad-hoc price. The organization also proposes centralizing public charging data through the Common European Access Point (CEAP) to harmonize EU-wide open data collection.
Why It Matters
The EU public charging network has reached record levels, with 1.1 million chargers deployed by the end of 2025, and member states are on track to meet or exceed AFIR targets. With infrastructure quantity largely addressed, T&E argues that the regulatory focus must now shift to quality, specifically addressing user experience challenges related to price transparency, accessibility, and comparability.
By establishing EU-level indicators and regular monitoring of CPO and MSP prices, national authorities could better distinguish between normal market variation and pricing differences that require closer scrutiny. This move aims to create a seamless and competitive charging environment for EV users across the European Union.
The Bottom Line
T&E’s position paper seeks to transform AFIR from a coverage-focused framework into a tool for ensuring fair and transparent pricing, requiring clear cost disclosures and standardized payment methods to protect consumers and foster competition in the mature EU charging market.
