What should your EV charging service level agreement cover?

An EV charging service level agreement should define fault priorities, response and restoration times, maintenance coverage, reporting and remedies. The public rapid-charging reliability requirement is 99% across an operator's rapid network over a calendar year [S1]. It does not establish a repair deadline for your individual site. Negotiate measurable site commitments separately. Checked October 2026.

Last checked 16 October 2026

What should an EV charging service level agreement include?

A service level agreement, or SLA, turns the support offer into things you can measure. The IET’s local-authority guide identifies availability, usage data, remote and on-site issue resolution, and customer-service response as matters for the contract. Use that scope to question your own proposal, even when your site is privately owned. A brochure saying maintenance included is insufficient detail for a purchasing decision. [S4]

Ask for an asset list and a responsibility table. Identify the charge point operator, or CPO, which runs the charging service; the equipment owner; the maintenance contractor; and your site contact. Check where software, payment processing, connectivity and the electricity supply sit. The public guidance identifies the operator by responsibility for controlling the chargepoint’s functioning, rather than simply the branding on it. [S2]

Read chargepoint maintenance and uptime alongside the SLA. You need to know what is included before comparing response times or annual fees.

Does 99% reliability mean your charger will always be available?

No. The statutory rapid-network requirement measures average reliability over the calendar year. It concerns rapid public chargepoints rated at least 50 kW, where kW means kilowatts of power, and uses defined status categories. It is not a site-by-site repair deadline or a promise that a driver can start every attempted session. Confirm the operator’s applicable obligations and the contract’s additional commitments. [S1], [S2]

Ask whether your SLA measures each connector, each unit or your entire site. Require an explanation of planned maintenance, network failures, damaged cables and payment outages. A charger with working power electronics but no functioning payment route is still a problem for your customers; ask how that failure appears in the contractual measure.

For a simple illustration, not a quote, assume a reporting month contains 720 service hours and a connector has 12 unavailable hours. Availability = (720 − 12) ÷ 720 × 100 = 98.33%. This is an assumed contractual calculation, not the statutory formula. Agree the denominator, exclusions and source records before comparing percentages.

How quickly should faults be acknowledged and fixed?

Separate acknowledgement, remote diagnosis, attendance and restoration. Logging an issue is not the same as arriving with the right part. The IET guide specifically distinguishes remote software resolution from on-site hardware work. Ask your bidder to price each commitment and show that its coverage includes your postcode. [S4]

Do not fill in response targets with an assumed industry norm. Ask whether time runs through nights, weekends and bank holidays. Identify when a clock can pause and who must approve that pause. If spare parts are excluded, request a parts list, stock arrangements and a replacement process for discontinued hardware.

Public operators within scope of regulation 9 must provide a staffed telephone helpline without charge, available throughout the day and year, with its number displayed near the point. The micro-business exception must also be assessed. Ask for site support beyond that legal floor if your operational needs require it. [S1]

Who pays for maintenance, damage and failed equipment?

Welsh Government procurement guidance recommends agreeing routine and reactive maintenance responsibilities and operational availability in advance. Use a cost schedule to distinguish the service subscription from chargeable attendance, parts, travel and remedial electrical work. [S3]

Request written allocation of vandalism, vehicle impact, cable theft, communications failure and power-supply faults. Check insurance, excesses and liability limits with your solicitor. If the car park must close for work, agree who manages barriers, alternative parking, lighting and customer information.

HSE says equipment should be maintained to prevent danger, with competent people and safe working arrangements. The SLA should support those duties. Ask for maintenance records and an emergency isolation procedure; do not make a revenue target a reason to leave potentially unsafe equipment in service. [S5]

What records, remedies and exit rights should you request?

Ask for an export that joins the asset identifier, fault report, acknowledgement, attendance, restoration and exclusion reason. Welsh procurement guidance includes ongoing operational data such as sessions, energy and speed. Request enough records to reproduce your local performance calculation, including failures that staff report before the remote system notices them. [S3]

Use charging data for hosts to scope reporting. A kilowatt-hour, or kWh, measures energy; keep delivered kWh separate from the charger’s rated power and the hours it is available. Ask the operator to demonstrate a failed session, a repaired connector and a contested downtime exclusion in the report.

Negotiate how service credits are calculated, whether they are automatic and how repeated failure triggers escalation. Ask your solicitor to review whether credits limit other remedies. Check how a long lease interacts with a shorter maintenance term, redevelopment, equipment removal and termination costs. The SLA and property agreement need to work together.

Finally, request a handover plan covering asset records, configuration, data exports and access credentials held securely outside public documents. Use switching operator or software to prepare exit questions. These are negotiation points, rather than statements that a particular right already exists.

What should you do next?

Prepare your asset list, operating hours and fault priorities, then get matched with an installer that covers your area. Request an SLA and cost schedule before choosing the operation package. Check the legal terms with your solicitor.

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