Most operators who ask “is it legal to resell electricity?” discover the real question is which of two things they are selling. Sell measured energy and, in many markets, you step towards the rules written for electricity supply and metering. Sell a charging service — access, time at a bay, a session — and a different, lighter set of rules usually applies. Which shape your sale takes is decided by your market’s regulator, and follows from how you bill.
Key Takeaways
- “Reselling electricity” and “selling a charging service” are two legal shapes; your billing basis points at one.
- Per-kWh billing attracts metering law; time and session billing usually read as a service — the local regulator decides.
- Your supply contract or lease can restrict onward sale even where the law permits it.
- Put the questions to the regulator, the metering authority and your tax adviser, in writing, before the first paid session.
The Two Shapes of a Paid Session
| Selling electricity | Selling a charging service | |
|---|---|---|
| What the driver buys | A measured quantity of energy — kilowatt-hours, like a utility supply in miniature | Use of the charger and the bay for a session or a time period |
| How it is usually priced | Per kWh delivered | Per session, per minute or per hour |
| Rules that typically attach | Metering accuracy law for selling by measure, price display in energy units, possibly regulator oversight | Consumer and price-display rules for services; metering is a commercial record, not a legal measure |
| Who decides which shape you are in | Your market’s energy regulator and metering authority — not you, not your supplier | |
This is general information, not legal advice. Some markets carve EV charging out of electricity-supply rules entirely; others treat per-kWh charging as regulated resale. Both positions exist — which is why no article can give your site its answer.
Your Billing Basis Chooses the Shape
The practical lever is the tariff. Bill per kWh and the sale reads as energy by measure in most readings — the shape that attracts metering-accuracy requirements, covered in our explainer on smart meters for EV chargers. Bill per minute or per session and the sale reads as a service — time and access — though the same electrons flow. Neither reading is yours to declare: the regulator’s current position for your market counts, held in writing before the first paid session.
The Third Place the Answer Hides: Your Supply Contract
Even where the law is comfortable, your supply terms may not be. Commercial tariffs and landlord supply agreements sometimes restrict onward sale of the supply they meter. An operator on a leased site can be permitted by the regulator and still breach the site’s supply arrangement. Read the contract and lease for a resale clause, and raise the plan with the utility or landlord in writing. This check is separate from the approvals in our guide to charging station licenses and permits.
The Questions to Put in Writing
- To the energy regulator or utility: Is selling EV charging by the kilowatt-hour treated as resale of electricity here, and under what conditions?
- To the metering authority: If we bill by energy, what accuracy standard and inspection or registration applies to the chargers?
- To your tax adviser: How is the sale treated for sales tax or VAT in each shape, and what must the receipt show?
- To your supplier or landlord: Does our supply contract permit onward sale through chargers on this site?
Hardware Sits Outside the Question
No charger makes a sale legal or illegal; the same station supports either shape because pricing lives on the operator’s platform. The EV-AC03201T dual-connector AC station — two Type 2 connectors sharing up to 43 kW, OCPP 1.6J, RFID, IP54 — meters each session and reports it to the platform; its touchscreen is a display, not a payment terminal, and no EVDANCE listing states a billing platform. What hardware owes the operator is honest metering and session records behind whichever shape the confirmations support. Planned sites can start from our commercial EV charging range.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I charge by the minute, am I still reselling electricity?
In most readings a per-minute tariff sells time and access — a service — rather than energy by measure. But “most readings” is not a ruling: markets define the boundary themselves, so confirm yours in writing.
Does giving charging away free avoid the question?
There is no sale to characterise, so the resale question largely falls away. The rest does not: permits, electrical rules and supply terms still apply.
Who gives the binding answer for my site?
The energy regulator or utility for the resale characterisation, the metering authority for billing by measure, and your tax adviser for tax treatment. Get each in writing.
Related Reading
- How to Get an EV Charging Station License: Permits and Approvals
- Do You Need a Smart Meter for an EV Charger?
- How Much Do EV Charging Stations Charge? Pricing Models Explained
- How to Open an EV Charging Station: Step by Step
