What AFIR means for charge point operators
The Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation changes how public charging is paid for and reported. Here is what operators need in place.
By Obelisk team
The EU Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) sets rules for publicly accessible charging points. For operators, most of the work is not in the hardware on the wall but in the software behind it: payment, pricing and data.
Ad-hoc charging without a subscription
Drivers must be able to charge without signing up to a contract or an app. In practice that means card and contactless payment at the charging point, alongside any app or RFID access you already offer.
Transparent pricing before the session starts
The price has to be shown before charging begins, in a form the driver can compare. Tariffs built from several components — per kWh, per minute, session and idle fees — need to add up to a price that is clear at the point of use.
Static and dynamic data
Operators have to make location, availability and pricing data available to national access points and third-party services. Keeping that data correct is an operational task, not a one-off export.
Static data: location, connector types, power, opening hours.
Dynamic data: live availability and current price.
Both kept in sync with what the charging point actually does.
Obelisk CPMS covers these requirements out of the box, so compliant sites run from day one without building the reporting yourself.
