Introducing Session Thresholding:
In the realm of Charging Point Management Systems (CPMS), transparency and efficiency are essential for both Charging Point Operators (CPOs) and Mobility Service Providers (MSPs). To facilitate transparency, the CPMS system automatically generates Charging Data Records (CDRs) at the conclusion of each charging session. The CDRs are shared in real-time with MSPs via the OCPI protocol. These CDRs provide crucial data for MSPs to estimate their monthly expenses and invoice their clients accurately.
However, in some instances, CDRs may contain unusual or suspicious values. For example, a charging session may record zero energy consumption because the electric vehicle (EV) driver decided not to charge, or it could show an unusually high value due to charger malfunctions. These peculiar CDRs can raise questions on the MSP side and result in additional administrative work for both CPOs and MSPs.
To address this issue and prevent the automatic transmission of questionable CDRs to MSPs, we have implemented an optional feature called "Session Thresholding".
Configuring Session Thresholding:
To activate Session Thresholding, follow these steps:
- Navigate to Tenant Configuration.
- Select "Session Thresholding" and enable the feature.
By default, a standard configuration is in place, aligning with the standards set forth by E-violin (E-violin docs). This configuration will be suitable for most use cases. However, you also have the flexibility to configure your own thresholds according to your specific requirements.
Each threshold can be enabled or disabled individually. By enabling thresholds, all your sessions will be checked on these thresholds. Not meeting the thresholds results in either a "Suspicious" or "Rejected" session status:
- Suspicious: When a charging session fails to meet the established thresholds, its status changes to "Suspicious." This indicates that the session is flagged for further inspection. As long as a session retains the "Suspicious" status, no CDR will be generated or sent to the MSP. You will have the choice to reject or approve a session. When a session is approved, a CDR will be send to the MSP.
- Reject: sets sessions that don't meet the configured threshold(s) to the "Rejected" status automatically, meaning no CDR will be sent to the MSP. This option can save the CPO time as no manual review is needed. (often used for min. kWh sessions as these sessions are often numerous and you don't run the risk of (high) revenue loss.
Configurable Parameters:
- Charging Speed, checks based on the configured max charging speed on connector level. The threshold used for charging speed is 25% above configuration (On EVSE's in the Location detail screen/ connector in charger detail screen).
- Session Timing (Check if the session takes place in the future).
- Maximum Session Age (Useful to configure, as most MSPs won't pay for sessions older than 90 days).
- Minimum Time in minutes for AC and DC chargers seperately.
- Min and max parameters for kWh for AC and DC chargers separately.
Suspicious Sessions:
If you have open suspicious sessions you will receive a notification in your Dashboard. Besides, you can easily locate suspicious sessions in the session overview by clicking on 'Advanced Search' and selecting 'Suspicious Only.'
When a session has a suspicious status, you have two options:
- Approve: Approving a suspicious session will retroactively send a CDR to the MSP, and it will be included in the CDR export for the month it was approved in.
- Reject: Rejecting the Session means it will be permanently rejected, and you will not be able to create a CDR for this session.
Session status detail screen:
Only suspicious and rejected sessions will have a clickable link in the session detail screen. By clicking the "suspicious" link in the session detail screen, a pop-up shows what threshold(s) have been broken and have led to the session being suspicious or rejected.
The thresholds which were not met, will always be shown first in this overview.
