In this section, we explain how to create and publish a service offer using the new pricing model.
Once the EVSEs Network setup is complete, you can create a service offer.
Table of contents:
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Creating a service offer with NGP
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Creating a tariff and scheduling the week
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Editing/Deleting a tariff
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Reviewing and publishing a service offer
1. Creating a service offer with NGP
To create a service offer, visit the Business Contracts section of the HBS Portal.
Here you click on “Create New Offer“, select for example “Authorization“ as the service type, and complete steps 1 and 2 of the offer creation dialog as usual.
In step 3 of the offer creation dialog, choose “Next Generation Pricing“ among the pricing models options and you will be prompted to select an EVSE network to link this service offer to.
As explained in more detail in the section “Instances of a Network”, you can create additional EVSE networks and structure them ad hoc, to fit each service offer that the CPO wants to publish on the HBS Platform.
When scrolling through the drop-down list, all your EVSE networks are displayed in alphabetical order, with the name, the description, and the number of EVSE groups they have.
As you select the EVSE network, the actual groups under the network open. By default, the currency selection field for the first EVSE group is visible, while the other EVSE groups are collapsed: to expand any of the EVSE groups, you can click on it and then specify which currency you want to apply to the group and its tariffs; once the currency is selected, the group is shown in full and you can visualise and edit its weekly schedule. Move to step 2 for an explanation of the timetable.
Please note: you can select only one currency for each group and the currency selected will automatically apply to all tariffs created under the group. If, while in draft, you want to change the currency of a group, the system will delete all tariffs you already added for the weekly schedule of that group and you will need to create new ones using the new currency.
2. Creating a tariff and scheduling the week
In this step, you can define the tariffs for the service offer you have created and assign them to specific time slots.
The key functionality of NGP is that CPOs can create as many tariffs as needed to cover all time slots of a week. These tariffs can be defined for each individual EVSE group, meaning that each group within a network can be priced according to the CPO needs.
To create a tariff, you should select one of the EVSE groups by expanding it and clicking on the plus sign on the right-end side of the timetable: the tariff creation dialog is now displayed, and you can start creating the first tariff for the week.
The tariff creation dialog has three main sets of data:
- General information on the tariff (e.g. tariff name and color);
- A time slot of the tariff (e.g. days/time of the week);
- Price components of the tariff (what will be billed with this specific tariff).
Find a short explanation of each field in the table below:
| Field Name | Description |
| Tariff name |
Name: each tariff should have a unique name and a color assigned: for the name, there are no format constraints, and the character limit is 30. Color: the color can be used to easily identify the tariff, once displayed on the calendar. |
| Define time slot |
You can define the day and time of the week for each tariff. Days: a tariff can apply to different days of the week, hence you can select multiple days of validity. Time slots: the time slots provided are 30 minutes long and start at midnight (00:00:00) until 23:59:59. Time slots will be used to define the applicability of a specific tariff and, ultimately, the price applied to the charging sessions happening within that timeframe. They cannot overlap. |
| Price components | You can define which services to include in the tariff. All prices you define for your tariffs do not include taxes. |
| Energy fee |
This price component is used to bill the EMP for the energy that is consumed during the charging session. The price of energy components is measured in Kilowatt Hours (kWh). |
| Time fee |
This price component is used to bill the EMP for the duration of the charging session. The price of the time component is measured in minutes (min). |
| Parking fee |
This price component is used to bill the EMP for the usage of the parking slot at the charging station. The price of the parking component is measured in minutes (min). You have the option of customising the applicability of the parking fee, by selecting when the parking should be billed and whether you want to grant EV drivers a grace period. The parking fee can apply to the whole duration of the charging session or only after the actual charging event has ended, but the vehicle is still plugged in.
Grace period: the grace period, which is tracked in minutes (min), allows you to grant a certain amount of minutes free of charge when billing the parking fee to the EMP. For example, if the grace period is set to 10, the parking fee won’t apply for the first 10 minutes of the charging session/end of charging. |
| Start fee |
This price component is used to bill the EMP for the usage of the charging station. It is a one-off fee that is tracked per charging session. |
Once you have defined the price components and their application, you can save the tariff. It will be displayed on the timetable of the group it belongs to.
While you can save a draft of the service offer at any time, it is mandatory to create tariffs to cover the time slots of the entire week for each EVSE group under the EVSE network. Only then should you be able to publish the service offer.
3. Editing/Deleting a tariff
You can edit any of the created tariffs if the service offer is in the draft and hasn’t been published yet.
To edit a tariff, you simply click on its time slot on the timetable and the tariff creation dialog will pop up, allowing you to edit current details and save the tariff accordingly.
This dialog also allows you to delete the tariff by clicking on the “Delete“ button on the left end side. Once the deletion is confirmed, the tariff can no longer be retrieved.
4. Reviewing and Publishing a service offer
Once you have scheduled tariffs for the entire week and for all the EVSE groups under the EVSE network, the service offer is ready to be published.
If you wish to review the offer ahead of publication, you can use the timetable to check the details of each individual tariff. To do so, simply hover the mouse over the specific time slot on the calendar: a dialog will be displayed with key details on the tariff, such as the name and price components.
After the service offer is reviewed, you can publish it by clicking on the “Publish“ button. Publishing a service offer makes it visible to all the EMP partners that can subscribe to it. Next Generation Pricing follows the same pattern as the other pricing models that are already available on the HBS platform.
Additionally, when a service offer that is linked to a network is published, the status of the EVSE network is changed from “Draft“ to “Active”. After the activation, you can no longer fully edit the network. While the EVSE network can still be renamed or its description updated, it is no longer possible for you to create or delete EVSE groups under this network or to move EVSEs from one EVSE group to another. Adding new, yet unassigned EVSEs is the exception to this rule, and is always possible.
Please note: if new EVSEs are added to the CPO network after it is activated, they will be shown in the “Unassigned EVSEs“ list; you should assign the new EVSEs to one of the existing groups and the tariffs already scheduled for that group will apply.