Refunding Erroneous Fees at SMECO EV Charging Stations: Ensuring Transparency for Maryland EV Drivers

I recently sent an email to SMECO, a utility that owns and operates public EV charging stations regulated by the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC). In this communication, I address an issue with erroneous transaction fees billed to drivers at SMECO’s EV charging stations and emphasize the importance of transparency for all affected customers. Below is the full text of my email to SMECO and the PSC.

Shell Recharge Account Transparency and Refunds for Transaction Fees

On June 5th, I contacted the PSC regarding a “Transaction Fee” I noticed on SMECO-owned EV charging stations. As an EV driver who has closely followed the Maryland utilities’ EV Pilot Program since 2018, I have long been concerned about the inclusion of “connection fees,” particularly for short dwell times. My opposition to these fees is documented in the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Council Meeting Minutes of September 20, 2018, on page 2 (attached).

I understand that the transaction fees I reported to the PSC staff in June were mistakenly added by Shell Recharge without SMECO’s awareness. As a result, transaction fees were incorrectly collected from customers between March 1 and June 7.

This isn’t the first time such an issue has occurred. In their semi-annual report filed on August 3, 2020, PHI disclosed a pricing discrepancy at one of their public EV charging stations. They provided details of the incident, concluding it was caused by human error, and outlined the procedures implemented to prevent future occurrences. These lessons learned and preventive measures are detailed in Appendix P of that report (attached).

Regarding the recent SMECO incident with Shell Recharge, my primary concern is transparency for all affected customers. I believe it’s crucial that utilities work together to learn from these incidents and ensure they do not needlessly recur. When a similar issue occurred with PHI in 2020, I was among the affected customers, and the public was assured that steps were taken with Shell Recharge (then called Greenlots) to prevent it from happening again.

While I don’t dispute that a refund may have been applied to my Shell Recharge account, I have yet to see any documented indication of it. The lack of detailed information in the Shell Recharge app leaves customers uncertain whether refunds have been issued. In the app’s Charge History menu, there’s no indication of a refund—just a history of charging sessions. I encourage you to explore the Shell Recharge app and website from a customer’s perspective. If you can find where refunds are listed, please let me know. I contacted Shell Recharge customer service, but they couldn’t provide immediate information and only offered to relay my request for a detailed statement to be emailed, without a clear timeline.

Additionally, the Shell Recharge app/RFID card is just one of several payment methods available at SMECO/Shell Recharge stations. Other options include paying by credit card over the phone, using roaming agreements with other EV charging networks, and various non-Shell Recharge apps. Is there a way to ensure that all customers using these different payment methods are properly notified and compensated? I used several payment methods during the affected period, and I’m not convinced that all transactions were accounted for. 

I appreciate your understanding that my focus is not on recovering my relatively small fee but on ensuring this issue is resolved effectively and transparently for all affected customers. My primary goal is to ensure that lessons are learned and steps are taken to prevent future recurrences.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.