As summer heat drives up electricity demand, EV charging site operators across the United States are entering the most cost-intensive period of the year, with many unaware of the financial exposure from seasonal utility demand charges. Between June and September, numerous utilities increase their demand charge — the fee calculated from a site's single highest 15-minute interval of power consumption — by 40% to 65% above winter rates. For a commercial site running EV chargers, one unmanaged charging peak during July can establish a surcharge that appears on every monthly bill through the fall, according to EVready Energy, the turnkey EV charging partner behind the Energy Guardian platform.
"Demand charges are seasonal, and summer is when they bite hardest," said Chris Nihan, CEO and Co-Founder of EVready Energy. "A DC fast charger can draw 150 kilowatts the moment a session starts. If that lands during your building's afternoon peak in July, you've just set a charge that follows you for a month — at the highest rate of the year. Guardian's job is to make sure that spike never registers."
The platform's performance is documented in a published customer report. At Berger Chevrolet, a dealership in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Energy Guardian managed ChargePoint and Blink charger loads against the building's base consumption over a single billing period. Without intervention, the site would have recorded a peak of 149.8 kW. Guardian held the actual peak to 116.9 kW — a reduction that saved an estimated $680.94 during that period and cut the dealership's single largest demand event by approximately 75%. The system intervened in only 7.1% of the period's 15-minute intervals to achieve that outcome, and no charging sessions were turned away.
"The Guardian software enables us to take advantage of opportunities to reduce costs, and the EVready Energy team is there providing friendly, expert guidance every step of the way," said Mike Ohlman of Berger Chevrolet.
Energy Guardian is network-agnostic, managing energy costs regardless of charger brand, and requires no equipment replacement. For commercial operators heading into the summer rate season, EVready Energy recommends reviewing utility tariffs before the first heat-driven peak establishes the financial baseline for the quarter. To learn how demand charges work and how to manage them, learn more at EVready Energy.
