Guides ·
EV charger field service in FSM: preventive maintenance, fault tickets and safety-check records for charge point operators
The Central Electricity Authority is consulting until 15 November 2026 on a draft list of standards for its electrical-safety regulations, including the rules for EV charging stations. This guide shows how charge point operators, charger OEMs and installers can run preventive maintenance, fault tickets and safety-check records per charger in FSM software.
By Upvantix team
EV charging station maintenance is field service work, because chargers sit at many host sites and technicians travel to them. Field service management (FSM) software keeps each charger as installed equipment at a customer site, turns faults into service work orders, schedules preventive maintenance visits, and captures checklists, photos, measurements and service reports on mobile. Each charger's safety and service history is then ready when an owner, OEM or inspector asks.
The timing matters in India. The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) is taking comments until 15 November 2026 on a draft list of relevant standards under its electrical-safety regulations. Its EV charging station rows cover overload and lightning protection, dedicated sub-circuits, protective earthing, fire detection, alarm and control, and the owner's records of test certificates.
Why charger uptime is a field service problem
A charge point operator (CPO) runs chargers across mall car parks, hotels, offices, residential societies, highway stops and fleet depots. Drivers or host-site staff report faults, and the technician who responds may work for the CPO, the OEM or an installation partner. Records end up split across WhatsApp groups, OEM portals and spreadsheets, so nobody can say what was checked on a given charger, when, and by whom.
On 27 October 2026, Amazon and Tata Motors announced 3,000 electric trucks for Amazon's transportation network in India, with dedicated charging infrastructure, including hubs being developed with Yahhvi, a charging infrastructure provider. More chargers in more places means more visits, fault tickets and records.
What CEA's draft standards list says about EV charging stations
CEA's Chief Electrical Inspectorate Division published a draft list of relevant standards applicable under the CEA (Measures relating to Safety and Electric Supply) Regulations, 2023 and their amendments. CEA prepared the draft citing Regulation 137 of the 2026 Amendment Regulations, which comes into force on 1 April 2027. Stakeholders and the public can send comments by post or to cea-eidivision@gov.in until 15 November 2026.
The draft list's EV charging station rows, summarised:
| Regulation | What the regulation says | Standards named in the draft list |
|---|---|---|
| 124(1) | Separate protection against overload of input supply and output supply | IS 17017 (electric vehicle conductive charging system) |
| 124(7) | A lightning protection system for the charging station | IS/IEC 62305 (protection against lightning) |
| 125(1) | Each charging point supplied by its own dedicated sub-circuit, protected by an overcurrent protective device that is part of a switchboard | IS 17017; IS 732 (code of practice for electrical wiring installations) |
| 125(5) | A protective earth conductor for an equipotential connection between the supply earth terminal and the vehicle's conductive parts | IS 17017; IS 732 |
| 126(2) | A fire detection, alarm and control system as per relevant standards | IS 2189 (automatic fire detection and alarm system) |
| 128(2) | The owner keeps records of the relevant test certificates | IS 17017; IS 61851 (EV conductive charging); IS 732; IEC 62196 (connectors, international) |
The list is still a draft and may change. Its EV charging rows name standards but set no inspection interval. The draft list also covers solar installations, battery energy storage systems (BESS) and HVDC, so the same records approach applies to rooftop solar service in FSM and to solar pump maintenance.
Preventive maintenance for chargers: what a visit should check
This checklist is recommended practice, not a legal requirement. It follows the themes in the CEA draft list so each visit leaves evidence against them. Take the schedule from the charger OEM's manual and the site's electrical contractor, and check it against the final CEA list when CEA issues it.
- Protection devices: input and output overload protection, and the overcurrent protective device on each charging point's dedicated sub-circuit.
- Earthing: protective earth continuity and the condition of earth connections.
- Residual current protection: an RCD test where the design includes one.
- Lightning protection: visible condition of the lightning protection system.
- Fire detection and alarm: status of the system where installed.
- Connectors and cables: wear, damage and strain relief on connectors and charging cables.
- Enclosure and signage: physical damage, ingress, and safety signage in place.
- Firmware: the version installed, noted on the service record.
- Test certificates: on file for the charger and in date.
Fault tickets: from driver complaint to closed work order
Use the same steps for every fault ticket, at every site.
- Register each charger as installed equipment under its customer and site, with host location, make and model, serial number, connector types and commissioning date.
- Attach the documents to the charger, such as the OEM manual, warranty terms, test certificates and the single-line diagram.
- Capture every fault as a service request linked to the charger and site, with the symptom the driver or host staff reported.
- Assess and set priority. Review urgency, the charger's history and cover, using warranty and entitlement checks. Take a charger with a protection or earthing defect out of service and make it top priority.
- Dispatch the right technician, matched on electrical skills and OEM training, from the dispatch board.
- Complete the job on mobile: checklist, measurements, photos, parts used, and a service report with signature.
- Record the outcome against the charger's history, so repeat faults on the same unit or model become visible and feed your first-time fix rate.
For sites under service contracts, the same flow covers charger AMC contracts, with covered visits and chargeable work on the same charger record.
The safety-check record per charger
Keep one row per check or test on each charger. This structure is recommended practice, not a CEA format.
| Field | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Charger and site | Installed equipment record, host location, customer |
| Check or test | For example, protective earth continuity or overload protection |
| Reference | The regulation and standard from the CEA draft list, where one applies |
| Due date and done date | From the preventive maintenance plan and the completed visit |
| Technician | Who did the work, and for which company |
| Readings and measurements | Values recorded on site |
| Result | Pass, fail or action needed |
| Defect work order | The service work order raised for any failure |
| Photos and report | Evidence captured on mobile, and the signed service report |
| Certificate | The test certificate attached, where one was issued |
Regulation 128(2) in the CEA draft list puts record-keeping on the owner of the charging station, and the record should also show who did each piece of work. The host site gives access and often reports faults, OEMs handle warranty repairs, and installers and electrical contractors do installation testing. Inspections and approvals stay with the authorities. FSM holds the plan, the tickets and the evidence, but it does not certify a charger or make a charging station compliant.
How Upvantix Field Service Management fits
Upvantix Field Service Management keeps the installed base: customers and sites, installed equipment, asset history and service context. Service requests and service work orders are tied to customer, site and installed equipment, with ownership, priority, commitments and status. Scheduling and dispatch use a dispatch board, technician assignment and workload visibility. Field execution covers mobile work, digital service forms, procedures and documents, photos, notes and measurements, and service reports and signatures.
Operational AI by Upvantix, a capability inside Upvantix FSM, is designed to prepare technician briefings, surface similar service issues, retrieve technical documentation and prepare service records for review, with human review required before operational action. Upvantix FSM is designed for deployment in your AWS environment.
Talk to us about mapping your charger sites to installed equipment, preventive visits and service work orders.
Common questions about EV charging station maintenance
What are CEA's draft standards for EV charging stations?
They are rows in a draft list of relevant standards that CEA has opened for comment until 15 November 2026. For EV charging stations, it maps regulations on overload and lightning protection, dedicated sub-circuits, earthing, fire detection, alarm and control, and test-certificate records to Indian and international standards. The list may change before CEA finalises it.
Which Indian standards apply to EV chargers?
In CEA's draft list, the EV charging rows name IS 17017 for electric vehicle conductive charging systems, IS 61851 for EV conductive charging, IS 732 for electrical wiring installations, IS/IEC 62305 for lightning protection and IS 2189 for automatic fire detection and alarm. CEA lists IEC 62196 as the international standard for connectors. Check again once CEA finalises the list.
What records must an EV charging station owner keep?
Regulation 128(2), as quoted in CEA's draft list, says: "The owner of the charging station shall keep records of the relevant test certificates as indicated in these regulations and as per the relevant standards." Keep each charger's service history, checklists and defect work orders with those certificates.
How often should an EV charger get preventive maintenance?
The EV charging rows of CEA's draft list set no interval, and this guide does not suggest one. Take the schedule from the charger OEM's manual and your site electrical contractor, and review it once CEA finalises the list. Put that schedule in your FSM plan so every visit is booked, assigned and recorded against the charger.
How should a CPO handle charger fault tickets across many sites?
Register each charger as installed equipment under its customer and site, and log every fault as a service request against that charger. Assess urgency, warranty and history, and put protection or earthing defects first. Dispatch a technician with the right skills, complete the job on mobile with photos and measurements, and record the outcome against the charger.
Is EV charger maintenance FSM or CMMS work?
It is FSM work when your technicians service chargers at customer or host sites, because the work is organised around customers, sites, installed equipment and dispatch. Chargers inside your own plant or campus, maintained by your own team, are closer to plant maintenance. Our guide on FSM or CMMS explains how to choose between these two separate products.
Can FSM software make a charging station CEA-compliant?
No. FSM software schedules the work, routes fault tickets and keeps the evidence, such as checklists, readings, photos, service reports and attached test certificates. Compliance depends on how the station is designed, installed and tested, and on inspections and approvals by the authorities. FSM gives you an organised record per charger when the owner, OEM or inspector asks.