Stall camping and ICEing: what actually works
They are two different problems and they need two different fixes. A car left plugged in after it finished charging is a pricing problem, and the only lever that reliably works is an idle fee, which requires a networked charger and a payment relationship with the driver. A non-EV parked in the stall is a parking-enforcement problem, and your ability to do anything about it comes from your state's statute and from signage that satisfies it — the sign that carries towing authority in one state is decoration in the next. Buying a network subscription will not stop ICEing. Painting the stall green will not stop stall camping. Work out which complaint you actually have before you spend anything.
Updated 2026-08-20
Two complaints, two mechanisms
Decide which sentence describes your site: the car finished an hour ago and is still sitting there, or that is a pickup truck in the charging spot. The two share nothing except the stall.
| The complaint | What it actually is | The lever that works | The lever that does nothing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car finished charging and is still on the port | A pricing problem — the stall costs the driver nothing once the energy stops | An idle fee on a networked charger, per minute after a grace period | Signage. A sign asking people to move does not move them |
| Driver plugs in for eight hours to hold a parking space | A pricing problem and a placement problem | Idle fee, a session time cap, or paid parking attached to the stall | A longer cable. It does not matter how many stalls a port can reach if a car is parked in one of them |
| Non-EV parked in the charging stall | A parking-enforcement problem | Statutory signage plus a standing tow authorisation with a named operator | An idle fee. The network cannot bill a vehicle that never plugged in |
| EV parked in the stall without plugging in | A parking-enforcement problem in most places, a grey area in some | The same signage and tow route, if your state's statute reaches it | The charger, which has no idea the car is there |
| The same three staff cars every day | A policy problem | A written parking policy with a permit, badge or booking rule | Enforcement technology of any kind |
Stall camping is a pricing problem
An idle fee ends stall camping because it is the only mechanism that changes what the stall costs the driver after charging stops.
How long the car actually needs the stall
Before writing any policy, work out how long a session should take on your equipment. That number is what a defensible grace period and a defensible time cap are measured against.
| Circuit breaker | Continuous current | Power delivered | Miles added per hour | Hours to deliver 30 kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 A | 16 A | 3.8 kW | About 11 | About 7.9 |
| 30 A | 24 A | 5.8 kW | About 17 | About 5.2 |
| 40 A | 32 A | 7.7 kW | About 23 | About 3.9 |
| 50 A | 40 A | 9.6 kW | About 29 | About 3.1 |
| 60 A | 48 A | 11.5 kW | About 35 | About 2.6 |
ICEing is an enforcement problem, and enforcement is statutory
Whether you can have a non-EV removed from a charging stall depends on your state's statute and on whether your signage satisfies it.
What actually stops ICEing on a working site
Compliant signage plus a real tow relationship stops it. Signage on its own does not, and every owner who has tried already knows that.
The levers that do not involve towing anybody
Most sites can shrink both complaints with siting and policy before buying any enforcement at all.
Check what your equipment can enforce before you write the policy
Idle fees, time caps, access control and reservations are network features, and not every unit on your site has them.
| Lever | Needs a network subscription? | Needs a payment relationship with the driver? | Works on an unnetworked charger? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Idle fee | Yes | Yes | No |
| Session time cap with cut-off | Yes | No | No |
| Access control by RFID or app | Yes | No | No |
| Utilisation data that proves contention | Yes | No | No |
| Posted time limit enforced by staff | No | No | Yes |
| Signage and towing | No | No | Yes |
| Paid parking attached to the stall | No | Through your parking system, not the charger | Yes |
Can I tow a car parked in an EV charging spot?
Sometimes, and it depends entirely on your state. Several states authorise removal of a vehicle occupying a designated charging space and condition that authority on specific signage. Others prohibit the parking and attach only a fine. Others have nothing EV-specific, which leaves you with the general private-property towing statute. Find the citation for your state, read the text, and have counsel confirm your signage satisfies it before authorising a single tow.
What is an idle fee and does it work?
It is a per-minute charge that starts after a grace period once the vehicle has stopped charging, and it works, because it is the only mechanism that changes what the stall costs the driver after the energy stops. It needs a networked charger and a payment relationship with the driver, so it is unavailable on unnetworked equipment. Configure the end-of-session notification at the same time — a fee nobody was warned about is a dispute, not a deterrent.
How long should the grace period be?
Long enough that a driver who is paying attention can move the car, short enough to matter. Set it against your dwell pattern rather than the vendor default: a retail lot that turns over hourly and an office lot where cars sit all day want different numbers. What is hard to defend is a grace period shorter than the time it takes someone to walk back from wherever your site sends them.
Will a longer cable solve stall sharing?
No. A longer cable lets one port reach two stalls, which is good for capital efficiency and bad for enforcement, because the cable ends up crossing a drive aisle or an access aisle. That is a trip hazard and an accessibility problem at the same time. Solve occupancy with policy and pricing, and keep cables out of the route people walk on.
Does painting the stall green give us any authority?
No. Marking and colour are notice. They cut accidental parking, which is genuinely worth doing, but the authority to remove a vehicle comes from a statute and from signage that satisfies it. Paint plus a compliant sign work together; paint alone is a gesture.
Should we charge our own employees an idle fee?
Rarely. Staff charging is a benefit, and turning it into a penalty system converts a scheduling problem into a management problem. Use a booking system, a badge rule or a rota, and put load management on the circuit so more people can charge at once. Save the idle fee for stalls the public uses.
Most stall fights are really capacity fights
Contention is what turns a parking norm into a complaint. Tell us the service size, the stall count and where the cars park, and the estimate returns a modelled range for the port count that would end the queuing.