hobbit
Well-Known Member
For reference, https://www.plugshare.com/location/281487 and my (non-)checkin. This is Florida
Power and Light, which let's remember only a decade ago was doing everything they could to BLOCK
deployments of solar in the "sunshine state". Clueless as a corporate strategy.
Outfits that only offer their "app" as the only option to work with their chargers should be regulatorily
compelled to implement other options. Since most "apps" are glorified web-browsers anyway, it's not
a stretch for any of the dev departments of these companies to enable launching a charge session
via their ordinary website using an ordinary browser, given that one likely had to sign up and attach a
payment method to an account therr in the first place. Anyone without a google or apple account is
PROHIBITED from downloading any apps from the "stores", which honestly is flat-out discrimination.
The five-minute fix is for the provider in question to make the app install packages directly available
from their own websites as well.
While most people [esp. EV drivers] likely have smartphones, that's not guaranteed either. Or a user
may not have reliable cell data service at the charger location. This is another strong argument in
favor of RFID tap-cards, or a regular credit/debit chipcard reader on the unit [which is how I have to
use EA]. Then the only network question is between the charger and the provider's own network,
which presumably works since they would have ensured that at comissioning.
The high irony about FPL is that I called them ~ 2 weeks before to discuss options, and was told by
their reps "oh, we're still in this trial period and charging is free, you can just call us and we'll start it
for you, no app needed". Well, not before 8AM on an ordinary weekday apparently, when the "outage"
department my call fell over to is telling me I have to sit there for 45 minutes with the CCS plug locked
into my port and nothing happening. I was like "f that", pulled the manual release and unhooked, and
happily charged at the nice high-power EVGo 20 miles down the road.
From there, now after 8am, I called in to complain about this abysmal handling of things. I was
assured that someone from the "Evolution" leadership would call me back "within the hour", which of
course never came. I went through TWO cycles of that false promise, until two days later I was finally
able to talk to the lead guy in that area. I broadened his perspective on what it takes to run a PUBLIC
charging network, particularly with regard to having competent 24x7 coverage and not lying to the
customer base. He seemed to take it seriously; he's a Tesla owner himself but obviously doesn't have
to use his own network as a result.
We'll see if they eventually get it together, but for right now they shouldn't even be listed by Plugshare.
_H*
Power and Light, which let's remember only a decade ago was doing everything they could to BLOCK
deployments of solar in the "sunshine state". Clueless as a corporate strategy.
Outfits that only offer their "app" as the only option to work with their chargers should be regulatorily
compelled to implement other options. Since most "apps" are glorified web-browsers anyway, it's not
a stretch for any of the dev departments of these companies to enable launching a charge session
via their ordinary website using an ordinary browser, given that one likely had to sign up and attach a
payment method to an account therr in the first place. Anyone without a google or apple account is
PROHIBITED from downloading any apps from the "stores", which honestly is flat-out discrimination.
The five-minute fix is for the provider in question to make the app install packages directly available
from their own websites as well.
While most people [esp. EV drivers] likely have smartphones, that's not guaranteed either. Or a user
may not have reliable cell data service at the charger location. This is another strong argument in
favor of RFID tap-cards, or a regular credit/debit chipcard reader on the unit [which is how I have to
use EA]. Then the only network question is between the charger and the provider's own network,
which presumably works since they would have ensured that at comissioning.
The high irony about FPL is that I called them ~ 2 weeks before to discuss options, and was told by
their reps "oh, we're still in this trial period and charging is free, you can just call us and we'll start it
for you, no app needed". Well, not before 8AM on an ordinary weekday apparently, when the "outage"
department my call fell over to is telling me I have to sit there for 45 minutes with the CCS plug locked
into my port and nothing happening. I was like "f that", pulled the manual release and unhooked, and
happily charged at the nice high-power EVGo 20 miles down the road.
From there, now after 8am, I called in to complain about this abysmal handling of things. I was
assured that someone from the "Evolution" leadership would call me back "within the hour", which of
course never came. I went through TWO cycles of that false promise, until two days later I was finally
able to talk to the lead guy in that area. I broadened his perspective on what it takes to run a PUBLIC
charging network, particularly with regard to having competent 24x7 coverage and not lying to the
customer base. He seemed to take it seriously; he's a Tesla owner himself but obviously doesn't have
to use his own network as a result.
We'll see if they eventually get it together, but for right now they shouldn't even be listed by Plugshare.
_H*
