What is a CSMS and why does your property need one? Learn how a Charging Station Management System lowers costs and future-proofs charging infrastructure.
An EV charging CSMS is the hidden engine behind every well-maintained charging facility — the system that allows charging points, users and power grids to work together without friction. With Boverket's new requirements for smart charging and open protocols from May 2026, property owners need to understand what a Charging Station Management System actually does, and what distinguishes a good CSMS from a bad one. Here we go over how our platform works, what features matter most and how to choose the right one.
CSMS stands for Charging Station Management System — in the past, the term CPMS (Charge Point Management System) was often used, but the industry has shifted to CSMS as the standard term. In short, it is the cloud-based platform that a charging operator (CPO) uses to control, monitor and optimize its entire charging infrastructure from a central point.
Think of it as the real estate “brain” for electric car charging. The system connects each individual charging point with users, power grids and payment solutions. Without a CSMS, you manage charging boxes as isolated devices — with a CSMS you operate them as a cohesive, intelligent facility.
In practice, this means that from a single Dashboard can see which chargers are active, which ones are wrong, how the power is distributed and what the plant costs — in real time. It's the difference between responding to problems and preventing them.
Two abbreviations are constantly popping up in the charging world: OCPP and OCPI. They sound technical but have a direct impact on your freedom as a property owner.
OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol) is the standard for communication between the charging box and your CSMS. Do you have a OCPP-based system you can switch charging boxes without switching platforms -- you're not locked into a single hardware vendor. The Boverket's new regulations, which come into force on 29 May 2026, require that all new charging points support open protocols, which in practice means OCPP.
OCPI (Open Charge Point Interface) is about something else: roaming and interoperability between different charging networks. OCPI enables external payment networks — known as e-Mobility Service Providers (EMSPs) — to give their users access to your charging points. This means that an EV driver with a charging card from another network can still charge at your place, and payment is processed automatically.
For you as a property owner, supporting both OCPP and OCPI means maximizing the utilization of your charging points (more potential users), allowing you to freely choose and change hardware, and meeting the new regulatory requirements for interoperability.
One of the most important features of a modern CSMS is smart power control — sometimes referred to as dynamic load balancing. The term describes the ability of the system to distribute the property's available electrical capacity among all active charging points in real time, without overloading the grid.
In practice, it works like this: instead of each charging box pulling maximum power (and risking hitting the property's hedging limit), the CSMS continuously analyzes how much capacity is available and distributes it optimally. This means you can connect far more charging points than your existing electrical capacity actually allows — without expensive network upgrades.
ChargeNode's data from over 60,000 charging points shows that smart power management can reduce power requirements from 125A to 63A for a typical BRF plant. This corresponds to savings of SEK 30,000-60,000 per year — money that would otherwise have gone to unnecessary power costs.
Med impact tariffs to become mandatory by 2027, where it is no longer how much electricity you use that costs but when and how fast you use it, smart power management becomes even more important. Properties without this feature are at risk of greatly increased electricity costs.
A common concern among property owners and residents is that vehicles do not have time to fully load. Departure based charging solves that problem by allowing the user to enter their scheduled departure time in the app. The system then automatically prioritizes the vehicles that are going first.
This means that those who need the car at 6am will have their charging priority over those who do not leave until the afternoon — even if both have the car plugged in at the same time in the evening. The CSMS optimizes the distribution so that all vehicles receive adequate charging without the power peaks skyrocketing.
For a BRF or a real estate company with parking spaces, this means that you can offer charging to everyone without anyone having to worry about standing with an unloaded car in the morning. It builds trust and increases satisfaction among users.
One of the most common objections to installing charging infrastructure is “who should pay and how?”. A modern CSMS solves that whole issue automatically.
The system handles individual billing per user, either via app with linked debit card, business account or RFID Tag. As a property owner or charging operator, you can set flexible pricing models — fixed price per kWh, time-controlled pricing or scheduled tariffs depending on the time of day.
The user management makes it easy to administer different groups: employees, tenants, visitors and guest charging can have separate rights, pricing models and time restrictions. Billing is done automatically with transparent reporting so that each user can track their own charging costs in real time.
This is especially relevant for commercial and office properties where tenants increasingly require access to charging. With the right CSMS in place, charging infrastructure becomes a revenue source rather than an expense.
Data is one of the most underrated benefits of a good CSMS. The platform continuously collects information on usage patterns, energy consumption, utilization and revenue — data that enables informed deployment and optimization decisions to be made.
For example, you can see which charging points have the highest utilization rates, at what times the load is highest, how energy costs evolve month by month, and how much revenue potential exists in opening to public charging or more EMSPs.
ChargeNode's data shows a clear induction effect: after installing charging infrastructure, the charge increases by 25-39% within 12 months depending on the type of property. BRFs and co-ops see the strongest growth with +39%. This means that the need for deployment often comes faster than expected — and with the right data, you can plan proactively instead of reactively.
The Boverket's new regulations enters into force May 29, 2026 sets clear requirements for charging infrastructure in the case of new construction and major renovation. In addition, from 1 January 2027, retroactive requirements apply to existing premises with more than 20 parking spaces.
The technical requirements require all new charging points to have smart charging (optimisation for grid load), support open protocols such as OCPP, be interoperable with energy grids and third party systems, and where technically feasible enable bi-directional charging (V2G).
In practice, this means that you as a property owner need a CSMS that meets all these requirements. A system without OCPP support or smart power control will simply not be approved. It is important to act now — not least because the Laddbil grant requires the application to be submitted before the installation begins, and the processing time is 3-4 months.
We have built our platform from the ground up with a single goal: to give property owners full control without unnecessary complexity. Our proprietary CSMS platform (developed by our in-house development team) gives us full control over the entire technology stack, from smart power control and outgo-based charging to automated billing and real-time monitoring.
We fully support OCPP for open hardware freedom and OCPI for roaming against external EMSPs. In addition, ChargeNode is itself an eMSP, which means that we offer business accounts and credit card solutions directly in our platform — without the need to involve additional third-party providers.
With over 60,000 charging points in operation, 200,000 active users and 99% uptime, we have the data and experience to size, deploy and optimize your facility from day one. Our support team is staffed 24/7, every day — not just during business hours.
Contact us for a free consultation and get an overview of how our CSMS platform can be adapted to your property's needs.
A modern CSMS is no longer a “nice to have” but a necessity for all property owners with charging infrastructure — not least with Boverket's new requirements around the corner. The key is to choose a platform that supports open protocols (OCPP and OCPI), has smart power management that actually lowers costs, and that can grow with your needs without you being locked into a single vendor.
What is the difference between CPMS and CSMS?
CPMS (Charge Point Management System) and Charging Station Management System (CSMS) describe basically the same type of system — a platform for controlling and monitoring charging infrastructure. However, the industry has switched to the term CSMS, which better reflects that the system handles entire charging stations and not just individual charging points.
Why is OCPP support important in a CSMS?
OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol) is an open standard that allows your CSMS to communicate with charging boxes from different manufacturers. Without OCPP support, you run the risk of being locked in with a single hardware vendor. The Boverket's new requirements from May 2026 make OCPP support compulsory in practice.
What is OCPI and what does EMSP support mean for me as a property owner?
OCPI (Open Charge Point Interface) allows roaming between different charging networks. Support for eMobility Service Providers (EMSPs) means more EV drivers can use your charging points through their existing charging cards or apps, increasing utilization and revenue.
Can a CSMS help me avoid expensive network upgrades?
Yes. Smart power control (dynamic load balancing) in a CSMS distributes the property's available electrical capacity between all charging points in real time. ChargeNode's data shows that power demand can be halved -- from 125A to 63A for a typical BRF -- eliminating the need for grid upgrade in most cases.
What types of property need a CSMS for electric car charging?
All properties with more than a few charging points benefit greatly from a CSMS — from BRFs and apartment buildings to commercial properties, offices and transport depots. The more charging points you have, the more important smart power control, automated charging and central monitoring become.
Charge Node Europe AB
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