Making Sense of Charge Management – Webinar Unpacked

We recently hosted the first webinar in our new Tenix webinar series. The topic was Making Sense of Charge Management. The idea behind it was that while there are many buzzwords referring to charge management capabilities, for example, load balancing, peak shaving, and dynamic charging, there is still confusion around when they are needed, and how to set them up as part of a charge management program for electric fleets.

For this article, I have written up three key learnings from last week’s webinar as part of our quest to cut through jargon and make decision-making easier for fleet operators evaluating approaches to Charge Operations Management.

1. Load Balancing – what is it and do you need it?

Every depot has a defined grid connection, and that connection determines the maximum power available at any given time. Operators cannot exceed this capacity, so it is a real limiting factor for fleet operations management. If you have 30 buses charging at 150 kW, you have a theoretical demand of 4.5 MW. But what if your capacity is only 3 MW? You have to find a way to control load distribution so that you don’t create charging peaks that exceed the connection limit. This is when and why you need load balancing.

Load balancing allocates available power across vehicles dynamically, based on priority and the remaining charging window. In practice, this means the system understands the total available capacity and distributes it continuously, ensuring every vehicle reaches its required state of charge within the available grid envelope.

This is where the overlap between load balancing and peak shaving can cause confusion. Managing load protects operations (by preventing a fuse from blowing or a full-power outage), but it also has financial implications, as unmanaged peaks can increase contracted capacity costs. During the webinar, Jim asked Caroline whether peak shaving is needed in addition to load balancing — a question I also had: what exactly is the difference, and do I need both?

2. Peak Shaving – do I need it as well as load balancing?

Electricity cost typically has two components:

1. Capacity charges based on peak demand
2. Energy prices based on the price per kWh

Operators can keep these costs in check through various control strategies, but if all buses begin charging immediately upon returning to the depot, demand spikes sharply. Even if there is enough capacity, that spike can have financial consequences.

Caroline explained that operators who ignore this see a sharp step change in energy bills as fleets scale. Peak shaving moderates this. Charging sessions are staggered or power levels adjusted to flatten the demand curve across the available window.

The difference between load balancing and peak shaving

While load balancing focuses on working within the limits of your grid connection, peak shaving focuses on managing costs. You might have enough grid capacity to charge every vehicle at once, but if you do, you’ll see a sudden spike in demand. In many places, that one spike sets your capacity charge for the whole month.

Caroline explained it simply: if every bus plugs in at 18:00 and charges at full power, the 18:00–18:15 interval may define your monthly peak. If instead the system staggers charging across the available overnight window, the maximum demand is flattened. Vehicles are still ready for service, but the cost baseline changes.

Once your depot grows past 30 or 40 vehicles, you’ll start to see a real difference in your energy bill. Many operators who initially worried only about grid limits later noticed that, even with this under control, letting demand spikes go unchecked was costing them more.

3. Dynamic Charging – when does energy price optimisation matter?

In many countries, you can choose between a fixed rate or spot pricing for electricity. Fixed rates keep your cost per kWh steady, while dynamic pricing changes every hour based on the market.

Dynamic charging lets you adjust when and how much you charge vehicles based on energy prices. Instead of always charging at full power (and at a high price) as soon as vehicles get back, the system can ramp up charging when prices are lowest and slow it down when prices are high.

To make this work, you need access to forecasted or day-ahead energy prices, clear visibility of departure times and required state of charge for each vehicle, and real-time insight into total depot load so charging decisions can be continuously optimised within operational constraints.

During the webinar, Caroline highlighted that several Nordic operators moved from fixed tariffs to dynamic pricing once they had confidence in their charge management setup. By allowing the system to shift charging within the available overnight window, they reduced total energy cost without compromising operational readiness.

Dynamic charging is the third step toward a fully optimised charge management program. First, you make sure you don’t exceed your grid limits with load balancing. Next, you keep demand peaks in check through peak shaving. Then, you choose the best times to use energy with dynamic charging.

Conclusion

The webinar discussion outlined simple steps operators can take to gain control over charging operations as fleets scale. Start by checking your grid capacity and running a peak-demand simulation based on how your fleet is likely to grow, not just the vehicles you have now. Look at your load profile over a billing cycle to see if short spikes are causing higher capacity charges. After that, review your electricity contract to see if variable pricing is an option and whether it makes sense in your area. If it does, make sure you have the right data — departure times, target charge levels, and real-time load information — so you can use it all optimally.

Following these steps makes charging more predictable and keeps costs under control as your fleet grows. And of course, Tenix is here to help, too.