There’s a widely accepted assumption in EV charging that rarely gets questioned: charging at home is always cheaper than charging in public. The idea is that public charging is a convenience play, forcing drivers to pay a premium to access expensive public infrastructure.

The logic seems sound. A homeowner charging overnight in their garage surely has the lowest overhead, while a DC fast charging (DCFC) station, by contrast, has massive capital expenditures, high-voltage utility requirements, and "expensive" demand charges to recover.

And yet, in practice, the data tells us something that surprises a lot of people.

This is where the “charging paradox” emerges: In some high-utilization markets, charging in public can actually deliver a lower price per kWh than residential charging at off-peak times. Not because operators are subsidizing sessions or racing to the bottom on price, but because utility tariffs work very differently than most people assume.

The marginal cost win: consumption vs. demand

The mistake most people make is treating electricity like a flat commodity. In reality, commercial and residential power are billed using two entirely different structures.

  • Residential electricity is driven primarily by consumption. By January 2026, the average US residential electricity price has reached approximately 18¢ per kWh. In markets like California, the average has climbed to 30¢ per kWh.
  • Commercial electricity is priced in two parts. Large-scale commercial sites pay a "decoupled" rate consisting of demand charges (the peak power spike) and consumption rates (the actual energy used).

That distinction is what changes the math. Demand charges are set by peak usage. At off-peak hours, the marginal cost of every subsequent kWh can be as low as $0.03 per kWh.

When a charging station has high utilization, those fixed demand charges get spread across thousands of sessions. The result is a much lower effective cost per unit of energy, sometimes as much as $0.20 lower than what it costs to charge at home.

Here’s a concrete example using PG&E’s EV-2A tariff:

At home, even overnight charging can still cost around $0.35 per kWh, and often more if you’re not on a dedicated EV rate. By contrast, commercial EV tariffs like BEV1 (<100kW) and BEV2 (>100kW) can offer off-peak energy closer to $0.16 per kWh.

Those tariffs do include demand charges: $1.24 per kW for L2 and $1.91 per kW for L3. For a 7.2kW L2, that adds up to about $9 per month. For a 150kW DCFC, it’s $286 per month. But at night, those demand charges are effectively $0, because the peak usage typically happens during the day. Any kWh sold overnight only helps offset daytime peaks.

In that scenario, a well-utilized public charger could charge $0.25 per kWh, cheaper than home charging, and still make a profit.

For a busy DC fast charger, especially one next to a retail business that benefits from foot traffic, that pricing makes financial sense. By contrast, an L2 at an apartment that’s only used every few days might rack up more than $0.10 per kWh in hidden demand charges that need to be added into the price drivers pay.

Why "cheaper than home" is a competitive moat

For an investor, seeing a public station price its power at or below residential rates might initially look like a race to the bottom. In reality, it’s a signal that the operator understands their cost structure well enough to price aggressively without sacrificing margin.

For operators, this capability changes the role of public charging entirely. The station is no longer just a backup option or a convenience stop. It becomes a primary fueling source, particularly for the 40 percent of urban drivers who don’t have access to a private garage.

When public charging is both convenient and economically competitive, utilization becomes more predictable and volumes increase. And when operators can generate revenue in other ways, for example through in-store transactions, the economics improve further.

The blind spot: you can’t manage what you don’t model

If the math supports lower public prices, why isn't everyone doing it? Because most CPOs are flying blind. Traditional management tools give you a "rearview mirror" look at your utility bill. You see what you spent last month, but you don't know what your marginal cost is right now.

Without real-time cost modeling, operators fall into one of two traps: they either overprice to stay safe, which kills utilization, or they underprice blindly, which eats their margin during peak demand windows.

From guessing to operating

This is why we built the new energy cost features within Stable Operate’s Pro tier. By connecting utilization, pricing, and local utility tariffs, operators can go from guessing to actually operating with real cost visibility.

With Stable Operate, that means being able to:

  • Model real-time margins, so the impact of demand charges versus consumption is clear on every session
  • Optimize portfolio pricing based on actual utility tariffs, including time-of-use rates and demand charges, rather than static energy cost assumptions
  • Protect capital by showing investors the transparency they need to see that your "low" prices are actually high-margin wins

The pricing that looks irrational in the market today is often the sign of sophistication, not confusion. If public charging isn't competitive with home charging, it’s likely not a power problem. It’s a data problem.

Get started with Stable Operate for free