Public Charging – Still a Struggle
By Edward A. Sanchez — Oct. 26, 2022
I don’t want this to come off as a “woe is me” post. I have it far better than many when it comes to EV charging. I have a 240V outlet in my home garage, I own a Tesla, which means I have automatic access to one of the best and best-maintained Level 3 DCFC networks in the country, as well as memberships to all the major charging networks. Not to mention the massive collection of outlet adapters I have in my frunk. In the greater scheme of things, I have it good. But that’s not to say I don’t still encounter some frustrating experiences that make me sympathize with EV owners that don’t have all the advantages I do.
This past weekend, I went to visit my mother in the Bay Area of San Francisco, a veritable hotbed of EV ownership that is generally plentiful with EV charging stations, relative to other regions of the country. The flipside is that those stations are frequently occupied.
As has been noted on this blog, as well as many others, the function and reliability of public chargers is inconsistent at best. This time, I had a disappointing experience with a charging network I’ve generally been positive and complementary of.
Since my mother only has a 120V/15A outlet in the garage, if I want a quick juice-up, I either have to find a Supercharger (since my Model 3 has yet to have the hardware upgrade or CCS adapter), or a Level 2 charger (which involves leaving the car there for a few hours). Typically, there’s a Level 2 charger that’s less than a mile walk from the house. I went there, and all stalls were occupied. The stall that wasn’t occupied had a broken charging plug.
There was a man charging his Fiat 500e. I asked if he had much longer to go. He replied in a crisp “Yes,” so I decided to not press the issue further.
Looking on PlugShare, I found another ChargePoint about a quarter-mile away at the community’s local history museum. This time, the display said “Charger Not Set Up.” I called the ChargePoint support number and explained the situation. The representative attempted to activate and unlock the charger remotely, but was unsuccessful. She recommended that I go to the one I had just left, to which I responded, “That one has a broken handle.”
I didn’t write this post to beat up on ChargePoint or any other public EV charging network. Simultaneously growing and maintaining a public charging network is a challenging, resource-intensive business. But EV charging stations are still not to the point of ubiquitous availability and reliability as gas stations. Sure, you see the occasional “Out of Order” plastic bag over the pump handle, but nine times out of 10, pumps are operational – and when they’re not, there’s working a fuel nozzle mere feet away.
I don’t have a “magic bullet” solution for charging network reliability and maintenance. Maybe better self-diagnostic functionality in which the chargers are smarter and can self-diagnose, communicate issues, and self-correct in many cases, rather than having to rely on human intervention and manual maintenance. But of course, “smarter” hardware costs more money. Do you do fewer, smarter charging points, or more, “dumber” charging points?
These are real dilemmas the networks are experiencing, all the while facing quicker-than-expected consumer adoption of EVs, and consequently, greater demand on charging networks.
(Image courtesy Edward A. Sanchez)
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