Gentari has implemented a time limit on the AC chargers at Suria KLCC and KL Convention Centre starting today, 3 September. EV owners will have to pay overstay fees on top of their charging fees if they utilise the chargers for more than 5 hours.
There are currently 5 7kW AC chargers and 18 11kW chargers in the basement parking of Suria KLCC not inclusive of those in the Premium Parking zone. As for KLCC Convention Centre’s basement parking, all 6 of its AC chargers have a maximum output of 11kW.
How much are Gentari’s overstay fees?
According to the notice that we saw last night at all Gentari EV chargers in the basement parking of Suria KLCC, the rate of the overstay fees that you have to pay depends on the charger’s speed.
This is the current rate of the overstay fees for Gentari EV chargers in Suria KLCC and KL Convention Centre, as of 3 September 2024:
- 7kW AC chargers: RM0.10 / minute
- 11kW – 22kW AC chargers: RM0.15 / minute
For reference, this is the charging fee for the Gentari AC chargers at both locations:
- 7kW AC chargers : RM0.90 / kWh
- 11kW AC chargers: RM1.05 / kWh
Even though the sign was also present near the two Gentari DC chargers at Suria KLCC, the overstay fee does not apply to them.
I’m confused by the numbers. Can you give me an example?
So, let’s assume that you are charging your BYD Dolphin Extended Range (ER) at Suria KLCC’s basement parking for 7 hours. At the time you plug in the 7kW charger to your EV, the battery level is 10%.
With a 7kW AC charger, the Dolphin ER which has a 60.48kWh battery pack can regain 10% of its battery level each hour. After 7 hours of charging, the battery level of your Dolphin ER is now 80% and the amount of energy you have consumed to charge your EV is around 42.33kWh.
Here’s how the calculation would look like:
- Charging fee = 42.33kWh x RM0.90 / kWh = RM38.10
- Overstay fee = 120 minutes x RM0.10 / minute = RM12
- Total fee = Charging fee + Overstay fee = RM50.10
Overstay fees are not idle fees
While both types of fees can be considered anti-hogging implementations, overstay fees are different from idle fees which have been implemented by several Charging Point Operators (CPOs) in Malaysia such as Tesla, ChargeSini, and JusEV.
Idle fees will kick in once your EV has finished charging. However, overstay fees like what Gentari has implemented at these locations do not consider your EV’s battery level.
So, the overstay fees kick in once your charging time is over the stipulated time limit regardless of whether your EV is fully charged or otherwise. Meanwhile, this applies not only to the Gentari Go app but also to other apps that support Gentari chargers such as Setel, JomCharge, ChargEV, and Hello Smart.
Why the overstay fee is a move towards the right direction?
Gentari AC chargers at Suria KLCC’s basement parking were set up in a rather interesting manner. They are located inside the season parking zone which means they can only be used by season pass holders during working hours.
If we need to make an educated guess, some season pass holders may have just left their EVs connected to the chargers for as long as they wanted to. Since these chargers have per-kWh pricing, they can simply hog the chargers all day long.
With the newly implemented overstay fees, this is going to help increase the turnaround for the AC chargers at Suria KLCC and KL Convention Centre. This way, they can charge more EVs per day instead of being tied to just a handful of inconsiderate EV owners.
Ultimately, a charging bay is not a parking bay. Furthermore, 5 hours of charging time should provide your EV with ample range to travel quite a distance after leaving the KLCC area.
