United Chargers Inc puts Open Source interface access behind paywall on Grizzl-E car chargers

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Starting approximately in September 2025, United Chargers Inc. started putting the ability to configure a local/third party Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) backend for their car chargers behind a $199USD paywall. Chargers are still advertised as being OCPP-compliant, with no mention of the extra cost associated with actually using the functionality mentioned on product pages.

Background

United Chargers Inc. manufactures and sells EV car chargers under the Grizzl-E brand. The company is based in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, which is also where their manufacturing facility is located. They have been manufacturing EV chargers for the North American market since 2019. Most of their EV chargers are advertised as being OCPP-compliant.

[Incident]

Starting in late October, 2025, users reported that the ability to configure a local/third party OCPP backend on their Grizzl-E car charger was no longer available. After contacting the company, users reported that they were being pointed to a web page where they could unlock the capability as a "Premium Feature!" for $199USD, which is approximately 50% of the cost to purchase a charger. Some users who had purchased their charger before September 2025 were able to get Customer Support to unlock the feature they had already paid for at no cost but Customer Service has reportedly said that this may would only apply to units purchased before September 2025 and that users must request the unlock through Customer Support.

Grizzl-E EV charger product pages still mention the chargers as being OCPP-compliant, with no mention of the additional $199USD additional fee required to actually use the functionality.

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References

https://grizzl-e.com/about/ - Archived Link (Snapshot Date: Nov 15 2025)
https://grizzl-e.com/ocpp-access/ - Archived Link (Snapshot Date: Mar 1 2026)
https://community.home-assistant.io/t/grizzl-e-charger-and-has-ocpp-integration/804698/21 - Archived Link (Snapshot Date: Mar 1 2026)
https://grizzl-e.com/products/grizzl-e-ultimate-48/ - Archived Link (Snapshot Date: Mar 1 2026)

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