[121 Kw]

Is there a schedule or way to see when a constructed charging location will go live? Seems like the ones in my local Target's parking lot have been sitting there for several months and a host of them "coming soon" ran down highway 395 and there are pictures of them on the plugshare app just sitting there, weeds already growing up around them.

 

[Fivedoor]

When a station is physically complete, but not active it is usually due to permit issues.

Keith

 

[wonderbolt]

I have asked EA about this, and they have told me no, no schedule is publically available. From the presentation that the CEO, Giovanni Palazzo, gave in Dec 2018, and what I have heard directly from them when requesting details about specific sites, two big issues seem to delay the location startups. First is the crew that does the final checks and start, and second is the permitting, inspections, and approvals. Not totally clear on the permitting but apparently some permits are required for construction, obviously, and additional permits are required to begin operation, which are contingent on the inspection process. Skip to 17:50 to hear the details

 

[121 Kw]

Government, the cause and solution to all life's problems.

 

[Vertiformed]

In California, there are some sites where EA has built the site but there is no power hookup yet. Whether the delay is due ineptitude on the part of PG&E or EA is unclear.

Frankly, I think people need to complain to CARB that EA is failing to meet the terms of its agreement.

 

[BoltFan]

Yreka and Willows ... just two additional examples of this CF ... compare this to how quickly Fernley, NV got turned up.

 

[JaxEVLyftUber]

I've been watching and waiting for the Jax FL station to come online. An electrical permit was issued 4/12/19. Construction was first noted in May. The groundwork went on for a couple months then all went quiet. Several weeks later, the big AC to DC converters were installed. Quiet again for awhile. The electrical permit was finalized (passed - ready for power) on 8/12/19

BTW, the electrical permit was for 2000 (two thousand) Amps at 480 V. and the cost of the electrical install was listed at $90k.

I know from experience in the construction industry that the local city-owned utility takes a week or so to install their meter...sure enough about a week ago, the meter went in. The station is energized - meter shows 0 kWh and 0 kW demand

The fencing is all gone, but station display screens are still dark - the protective film is still in place.

My guess is that EA has some sort of roving startup team that comes around and starts the stations - establish comms with the mothership, maybe also tests each station / connector under load.

Four other items on the EA station startup checklist:

1) Derate all dispensers to 45 kW (or less)
2) Orient the display screens to render them unreadable any time the sun is out
3) Configure the charge card readers to function properly less than 10% of the time
4) Double check that the connector cables are of the type whose outer jacket doesn't resist sunlight for more than a year.

(Just kidding about those four...we luv ya EA, really we do!!! teething pains and all !!)

PS - I will find it interesting to note kW and kWh at the meter from time to time as this station goes online.

It is also worth noting that in Florida meter readings by publicly owned utilities are considered a public record - this provides an avenue to learn actual usage / utilization of these stations.

 

[wonderbolt]

Now that's a fascinating observation about the electric meter, I never walked behind the bushes at the EA fast chargers I use to find the electric meters. I could easily snap pictures of them and record the date to get an idea of usage over time, just as you're suggesting, if they are external to the locked fenced in areas.

 

[Paul Gipe]

I've been watching and waiting for the Jax FL station to come online. An electrical permit was issued 4/12/19. Construction was first noted in May. The groundwork went on for a couple months then all went quiet. Several weeks later, the big AC to DC converters were installed. Quiet again for awhile. The electrical permit was finalized (passed - ready for power) on 8/12/19

BTW, the electrical permit was for 2000 (two thousand) Amps at 480 V. and the cost of the electrical install was listed at $90k.

I know from experience in the construction industry that the local city-owned utility takes a week or so to install their meter...sure enough about a week ago, the meter went in. The station is energized - meter shows 0 kWh and 0 kW demand

The fencing is all gone, but station display screens are still dark - the protective film is still in place.

My guess is that EA has some sort of roving startup team that comes around and starts the stations - establish comms with the mothership, maybe also tests each station / connector under load.

Four other items on the EA station startup checklist:

1) Derate all dispensers to 45 kW (or less)
2) Orient the display screens to render them unreadable any time the sun is out
3) Configure the charge card readers to function properly less than 10% of the time
4) Double check that the connector cables are of the type whose outer jacket doesn't resist sunlight for more than a year.

(Just kidding about those four...we luv ya EA, really we do!!! teething pains and all !!)

PS - I will find it interesting to note kW and kWh at the meter from time to time as this station goes online.

It is also worth noting that in Florida meter readings by publicly owned utilities are considered a public record - this provides an avenue to learn actual usage / utilization of these stations.

In California, there are some sites where EA has built the site but there is no power hookup yet. Whether the delay is due ineptitude on the part of PG&E or EA is unclear.

Frankly, I think people need to complain to CARB that EA is failing to meet the terms of its agreement.

My take is it's EA and not the utility. Two sites on SCE's system have also been delayed for months. And yes, a complaint to CARB is in order. I called a colleague in Sacramento and urged her to bug CARB about it. I fear that a number of the CEC stations will not get built before the end of the year as well.

Does anyone know what is going on with Recargo? Did they all move to Germany? To my knowledge Prunedale is the only site they have up.

Paul

 

[Paul Gipe]

Transformer Installed at EA's Bakersfield Station





Sometime in the past week PG&E has installed the transformer for the Electrify America station in Bakersfield, California.

The four-kiosk station has stood nearly complete--less the transformer--for months at Panera Bread.

The station remains offline and the protective plastic wrap, what remains of it, is still on the equipment and cables.

EA's bakersfield station's four kiosks can serve vehicles with CCS connectors for fast charging. One of the kiosks serves a dual role, charging either CCS cars or those using the CHAdeMO standard, such as the Nissan Leaf.

Ollie Danner, a local EV entrepreneur, said at this Saturday's Drive Electric event in Bakersfield that he'd followed a PG&E truck with the transformer into town to the Panera Bread site.

Drivers using the CHAdeMO DCFC standard should note that the CHAdeMO kiosk also has a CCS cable. If a CCS capable car is charging at the kiosk, the CHAdeMO cable won't be enabled and you'll have to wait until the other vehicle finishes charging.

Paul

 

[Usain]

It is also worth noting that in Florida meter readings by publicly owned utilities are considered a public record - this provides an avenue to learn actual usage / utilization of these stations.

That's an interesting idea. Do you know if the records are available over the internet?

If meters can be read by anyone at any time then it would be a great way to monitor the health of a site. This would be much more reliable than the EA app, which sometimes shows a charger available when it is really off line.

 

[JaxEVLyftUber]

The electricity consumption records aren't automatically made available online. Getting them requires submitting an FOI (Freedom of Information) request. They are fairly easy to write, and including a couple sentences of lawyerly formal language I have on file somewhere that generally inspires the target public entity to hop to it.

Physically reading meters is generally even easier...find it and look at it. The meter for the Jax FL EA station is within 20 feet of the chargers.

Do note that one must understand what is displayed...The Jax EA station utilty meter incorporates a 120x multiplier. That means that its present (as of 2 days ago) kWh reading of "6" means that it has consumed a total of 720 (+/- 60) kWh since coming on line in late August (putting that into perspective...less than my own home)

In the course of a 20 minute not-very-fast DC charge, the demand reading increased from 0.12 to 0.21. That translates to 14.4 to 25.2 kW. Demand displays maximum power consumed over any 15 minute period during the billing cycle...my sub $3 charge session single handedly added about 11 kW at a cost of about $110 to EA's electricity bill for that station for the month.

 

[p7wang]

So I suspect derating the stations to 20KW was a business decision and they don't really care if people go to competitors, until such time that demand is higher or perhaps they are really waiting for VW sales to begin before turning the stations back to full power. Well, guess they'll just lose out their customer base to EVGo or ChargePoint.

 

[GJETSON]

So I suspect derating the stations to 20KW was a business decision and they don't really care if people go to competitors, until such time that demand is higher or perhaps they are really waiting for VW sales to begin before turning the stations back to full power. Well, guess they'll just lose out their customer base to EVGo or ChargePoint.

I don't believe for a minute that the units running at 20 kW was "a business decision." They are scrambling to deal with multiple problems, with equipment provided by, at least, two different charger manufactures, and two different cable manufacturers, serviced by subcontracted crews spread thin across the country.

 

[Usain]

I don't believe for a minute that the units running at 20 kW was "a business decision." They are scrambling to deal with multiple problems, with equipment provided by, at least, two different charger manufactures, and two different cable manufacturers, serviced by subcontracted crews spread thin across the country.

Correct. They are already making repairs to the stations and bringing them back up to full power. I witnessed this at the Valdosta site last week. I'm fairly certain that the cost of repairs is covered by the manufacturer and not by Electrify America.

 

[JaxEVLyftUber]

I agree...it would be the height of folly to spend what they have on these stations and then intentionally derate them.

 

[The Other Tom]

Correct. They are already making repairs to the stations and bringing them back up to full power. I witnessed this at the Valdosta site last week.

Thanks Usain. This gives me hope that they will do this on other chargers! Do you know if it was a software fix or an equipment fix?

 

[BoltFan]

Is there a schedule or way to see when a constructed charging location will go live? Seems like the ones in my local Target's parking lot have been sitting there for several months and a host of them "coming soon" ran down highway 395 and there are pictures of them on the plugshare app just sitting there, weeds already growing up around them.

Not that I'm aware of. No project management updates. Some have been in construction for well over a year. I've spoken with EA reps. and they do not have or won't give any information about when a site is scheduled to come online. That being said, on the EA website, you can access the particular station you're interested in and have the app send you a text message and/or email when it comes available. I got one of these last week when the Yreka, CA site (in far Northern, CA also known as the State of Jefferson). That site, which is a perfect example, was in construction for well over a year and finally went live last week. There's a couple here in Sacramento that are probably closer to two years in "coming soon" status.

But by and large, EA has done a very good job of bringing these sites along despite all the CA permitting issues. Nevada, on the other hand, is very quick to get the permitting done and the construction. CA ... matter of years. NV matter of months. Case closed. HTH

 

[Usain]

Thanks Usain. This gives me hope that they will do this on other chargers! Do you know if it was a software fix or an equipment fix?

It was definitely an equipment fix. The chargers were being taken apart. Of course, I'm guessing there were software changes as well.