Here Yesterday, Gone Today

J

Jim In Tucson

Well-Known Member
Here is a 2012 photo of the first Level 3 charger in Southern Arizona and a photo of the same site taken by me a few days ago.

This is exactly why it is so important that we make use of the charging infrastructure.


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The Ace Hardware near my home has 3 EVGO units out front. On Monday I saw one in use, I think the for first time (that I recall). It was a Chrysler Pacifica mini van. I thought they were all PHEV, and if so, not sure why she would have been paying for juice.

Rob
 
It's quite an interesting and complicated problem for the L3 companies: pay big money to install, maintain, and bill for a lot of infrastructure while knowing that cheap home and destination stations, that get the job done a high percentage of the time, become more common, daily.
 
I think that DieselGate and the resulting Electrify America network has simply made it next to impossible for any private charging companies to even exist, let alone be profitable.

What I don’t understand is, why aren’t gas station companies reinventing themselves as energy station companies and leading the charge (pun intended) on establishing a future for themselves? I only know of one gas station with charging, and that’s Tesla Supercharger.

And while I’m on a rant, why are all charging stations set up in parking lots with head in parking only? So there’s no way to queue up a line. Why aren’t charging stations set up like gas stations with drive through charging islands?

OK. I’m done.



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Jim In Tucson said:
What I don’t understand is, why aren’t gas station companies reinventing themselves as energy station companies and leading the charge (pun intended) on establishing a future for themselves?
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It really doesn't make sense that they don't add plugs at certain stations. They'd get more people pulling off and making a stop at their location. EV drivers need snacks too.
 
It's hard to see from that picture, but if it was installed in 2012, I can almost guarantee that it was CHAdeMO only, and never had a CCS connector. As such, I'm sure it saw very little use. One could hope they'd eventually replace it with a CCS charger, or a dual-standard unit. All the power has been run. Or maybe it was just a bad location? There was a dual-standard charger in Ithaca NY (a very progressive, crunchy city) which was removed. It was in a poor location (at an auto service garage) with little within walking distance. Others have been installed in the city with much betting siting and the competition pushed the old one out of business. Live and learn.

Jim In Tucson said:
What I don’t understand is, why aren’t gas station companies reinventing themselves as energy station companies and leading the charge (pun intended) on establishing a future for themselves? I only know of one gas station with charging, and that’s Tesla Supercharger.
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There is a gas station chain in upstate NY, Mirabito, which is doing just that. They are installing DC charging at all of their new locations. Existing locations will be retrofit in the future (that's a lot more expensive to do than installing while the ground is already dug up). Electrify America also has partnerships with Sheetz gas stations in PA and Love's travel plazas throughout the country (largely in the west, but they just opened one in Binghamton, NY this week).
 
GetOffYourGas said:
Electrify America also has partnerships with Sheetz gas stations in PA and Love's travel plazas throughout the country (largely in the west, but they just opened one in Binghamton, NY this week).
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Lot's of Sheetz-s in the Virginia countryside where I grew up. That would be a great thing.
 
Oh, and another one - Royal Farms in Delaware / Maryland area has a bunch of DCFCs. I use them for my annual trip to Virginia Beach. And for those not familiar with them, they have excellent fried chicken to enjoy while your car charges!
 
BPs around me seem to often have fast chargers, but they're operated by Greenlots and cost a ridiculous amount for charging.
 
There is one by me that I've used twice. It was nice not to have to go home to fill up. Maybe I'll start to use it a bit more. It does get some use though.
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Jim In Tucson said:
Realizing of course that no one likes to be gouged, I for one do want the third party charging companies to be profitable so they will be incentivized to maintain and expand their networks.
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Me as well, but Greenlots is really expensive. And charges by time instead of kW. Also they have a really high up-front "connect" fee. As an example, one near me at a BP Station is $4.95 + $18.00 per hour. It's not even 24/7! That location is max of 50 kW, which is fine for the SE. But imagine how long and expensive charging something like a Mach-E at 50 kW would be.
 
Puppethead said:
Me as well, but Greenlots is really expensive. And charges by time instead of kW. Also they have a really high up-front "connect" fee. As an example, one near me at a BP Station is $4.95 + $18.00 per hour. It's not even 24/7! That location is max of 50 kW, which is fine for the SE. But imagine how long and expensive charging something like a Mach-E at 50 kW would be.
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Yikes! A 30-minute 80% charge in the SE would cost $14. That's like paying $5/gallon for gas.
 
That's coming. I'll bet in a few yrs that's what it's gonna be everywhere. Then they will come up with a new 'tax' if you charge at home. I used to spend $55-75 a week in gas. This summer only 8 bucks.
 
Puppethead said:
Me as well, but Greenlots is really expensive. And charges by time instead of kW. Also they have a really high up-front "connect" fee. As an example, one near me at a BP Station is $4.95 + $18.00 per hour. It's not even 24/7! That location is max of 50 kW, which is fine for the SE. But imagine how long and expensive charging something like a Mach-E at 50 kW would be.
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Speaking of EV charging and high prices, I wonder how our European friends are dealing with the recent explosion of electricity costs (I read news reports that electricity prices have increased as high as 300% more than just a few months ago in the UK and over 200% in other countries)?

Even news stories from China report widespread electricity shortages that have some cities turning off traffic signals and street lights while ordering consumption reductions by various industries -- and this is apparently happening in the current cradle of the EV industry.

Charging here at home sounds better than paying those prices (even if 'transitory') at commercial EVSEs, wherever they may be!
 
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News today explained China's power problems are due to the cost of coal being too high, and energy companies can't pass the cost onto customers so they shut the plants down instead of losing money.
 
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