To ensure high availability of Tesla SuperChargers, Tesla is now activating Congestion Fees at select charging locations in Malaysia. This replaces the usual Idle Fees which only penalises users who do not move their vehicles after charging is completed.
With Congestion Fees, the penalty fee will kick in once your EV battery has exceeded 80% charge when the site is busy. The move is aimed at encouraging EV drivers to charge what they need rather than charging all the way to 100%.
This would free up the chargers quickly and increases the availability of Superchargers for more users.
Tesla charges congestion fees of RM2/minute if you exceed 80%
At the moment, the set Congestion Fee for Tesla Supercharger in Malaysia is at RM2 per minute. This fee is charged if the vehicle’s battery is already at or above 80% State of Charge (SoC) or when your charging session has ended.
Users will be given a 5-minute grace period to disconnect and remove their vehicle, before the congestion fee applies.
Assuming that it takes 30 minutes to charge from 80-100%, that’s additional RM60 that you’ll need to pay to charge to full on top of the price of charging.
Users will know if a site has Congestion Fee when they search or navigate to a Tesla Supercharge on the vehicle’s in-car screen. In addition, users will also be notified via the Tesla app if the congestion fees apply.
After the 5-minute grace period has passed, Tesla will charge a fee of RM2 for each minute you remain connected to the Supercharger.
Tesla Superchargers in Malaysia are currently priced at RM1.19 to RM1.29 per kWh. However, there are some locations still showing a lower rate of RM0.93/kWh.
Stop DC fast charging at 80%
As covered in our previous EV long-distance guide, it is best to limit DC fast charging up to 80%. Due to the charging curve, the last 20% is the slowest and in most cases, it takes a longer time to charge from 80-100% compared to charging from 10-80%. As shown above in a Kia EV6, the time it takes to charge from 37-80% is only 12 minutes, but it takes an additional 26 minutes just to charge from 80-100%.
Unless you absolutely need the extra range to get to your destination, it is best to top up what you need (up to 80%) and continue driving until you need to top-up again.
If you want to charge up to 100%, it is best to do so at home or at a public AC charge point. Not only it is more convenient, it is also more cost effective as well.
Thanks Bro Bac for the tip via our EV User Group.
