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I had the pleasure of attending an Electrify America outreach webinar where EA invited a number of people who submitted recommendations for their Cycle Three build out. I might follow up with a video discussing it, and I'm sure @Ste might also. We both had a good chuckle that the only one of my questions that they addressed was whether EA would add Tesla plugs at their sites. They said they were considering it, but ultimately, they pushed that responsibility back on Tesla to provide their owners with a cheaper, easier to manage, higher quality CCS adapter like they do in Europe (which I think is correct).
Suffice to say, at a high-level, EA is definitely listening to customer feedback. They are aware of some of the connecting routes that need coverage, including I-90 and I-94 and routes to state and national parks. They're doubling their network support team, and they've started a station upgrade campaign to fix/replace troublesome chargers and sites. They're doing thousands of hours of testing with OEMs to validate compatibility, and they're working on improvements to their app, including trip planners and a charger reservation system.
A couple of questions of mine that they didn't answer were whether/how a member could get membership pricing when using a credit card on site, and whether they would be providing an RFID card for members who charge in areas with poor cellphone coverage.
They also shared a key detail that explains a bit about how and why they've developed their network in the way they have. They are tasked EV infrastructure "investments" and with creating a self-sustaining network. Essentially, when their funding runs out, the network needs to be able operate profitably and sustainably. That explains why they've focused on higher traffic corridors with larger EV owning populations. One of the biggest threats to that long-term profitability and sustainability is demand fees. In one real-world example of a charging site in Utah, they are paying $8.55 per kWh dispensed after demand fees, and they are installing grid-tied batteries in order to offset those costs (they stated 80% or 90% of a charging station's costs are due to demand fees).
They also provided some insight into some troubling statistics both for EV adoption generally. Nearly 78% of people surveyed said that finding charging stations away from home was moderately to extremely difficult. Another 65% of respondents said that they had never ridden in an EV and did not think they personally knew anyone who owns and EV. Sadly, that number correlates closely to only 40% of prospective car buyers saying they would consider an EV for their next purchase.
They might or might not post a recording of the webinar. If they do, I recommend watching it.
Suffice to say, at a high-level, EA is definitely listening to customer feedback. They are aware of some of the connecting routes that need coverage, including I-90 and I-94 and routes to state and national parks. They're doubling their network support team, and they've started a station upgrade campaign to fix/replace troublesome chargers and sites. They're doing thousands of hours of testing with OEMs to validate compatibility, and they're working on improvements to their app, including trip planners and a charger reservation system.
A couple of questions of mine that they didn't answer were whether/how a member could get membership pricing when using a credit card on site, and whether they would be providing an RFID card for members who charge in areas with poor cellphone coverage.
They also shared a key detail that explains a bit about how and why they've developed their network in the way they have. They are tasked EV infrastructure "investments" and with creating a self-sustaining network. Essentially, when their funding runs out, the network needs to be able operate profitably and sustainably. That explains why they've focused on higher traffic corridors with larger EV owning populations. One of the biggest threats to that long-term profitability and sustainability is demand fees. In one real-world example of a charging site in Utah, they are paying $8.55 per kWh dispensed after demand fees, and they are installing grid-tied batteries in order to offset those costs (they stated 80% or 90% of a charging station's costs are due to demand fees).
They also provided some insight into some troubling statistics both for EV adoption generally. Nearly 78% of people surveyed said that finding charging stations away from home was moderately to extremely difficult. Another 65% of respondents said that they had never ridden in an EV and did not think they personally knew anyone who owns and EV. Sadly, that number correlates closely to only 40% of prospective car buyers saying they would consider an EV for their next purchase.
They might or might not post a recording of the webinar. If they do, I recommend watching it.