EVGo - woes and NoGo! As well as All Charging Station issues in the Northeast this winter (2022).

TycanNewHampshire

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I have had to travel around the Northeast over the last month and have almost have had to been towed more times than I would like (zero would be the preference) due to charging stations not having the CCS plug working. Almost all of these have been EVgo and on PlugShare they did not show as down, nor did the Porsche Intelligent (or lack of intelligence) Range Planner pick up these as non-functional.

The worst case, was down to 1% and had to plug into a standard Lv2 charger for a few HOURS, just to go the last 20miles to get to a ChargePoint fast (relatively at 66kW) charger, in order to keep working.

Am I the rarity? Or are others seeing the charging infrastructure across the board not being maintained this winter and leaving us in precarious predicaments?

Are any other owners seeing the same issues as I am and is this concerning to you? A few questions:
1. is there a better app than PlugShare to know the updated status of charging stations?
2. Is there a setting that perhaps I don't have on with the Intelligent Range Manager that will pull the available stations to set charging to points that actually are functioning?
3. Any other tips and or tricks that you are using to ensure that the charging station is working so you don't end up going to a station with low charging %, only to have to find something else close (which may not be so close) and limp there when it is zero degrees and the miles just disappear with every hill you climb?

Not sure of others, but this is my first winter with the Taycan and the rapid battery discharge, combined with the lack of maintenance of the EV charging network (all providers), at least in more rural areas of the Northeast has me really questioning the reliability at the current state of charging coverage.

Any help, feedback, commiseration, ideas are welcome!

Thanks,
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TycanNewHampshire

TycanNewHampshire

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I found some interesting reads:
https://pluginsites.org/broken-chargers-broken-promises/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesm...o-work-not-just-be-installed/?sh=59374cc25dd7
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/electric-vehicle-charging-stations-becoming-100000222.html

Solution and Problem? Are they waiting to fix/build until the Federal Money comes in? :time::whatsgoingon: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing...harris-electric-vehicle-charging-action-plan/

Is the solution more regulation? :stop: I am not sure of all of this, but I do like the idea of mandating that they are connected to a network that is central, all can access and determine which is closest and operational. https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2021/jan/25/fayetteville-adopts-regulations-for-electric/

Seems like India has thought through this a lot more than the U.S., but still lacking in accountability of maintenance perhaps? https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/defau...hargingInfrastructureImplementation081221.pdf

Massachusetts has a lot on signage, paying for install and other things, but only one line on maintenance? "Operate and maintain the EV charging station for three full consecutive years after the date the charging station is operational" https://www.mass.gov/doc/massevip-public-access-charging-requirements/download

I am starting to beat the dead horse into glue here.....but can anyone find any formal standards, regulations, or even a mission or vision statement from a government (local, state of federal) or private enterprise or public-private venture/partnership that is actively stating a desire for something like the following: "we will maintain all charging stations at 90% operation ability and committed to responding and fixing broken chargers within 24-48hours upon notification" (or any form of statement)? :please:

I am seeing this being the major missing-link to a reliable infrastructure as we move forward if they are only incentivized and reimbursed to build them with the correct signs and road painting, but no standards on service/break-fix in order to qualify for the federal and state cash? Am I the only one that sees this as the one thing that could turn this into catastrophe if we don't start getting this into the debate now and provide examples on how it effects us in a profound way? Am I just spitting hyperbolic rhetoric and vitriolic thoughts, or do you agree and/or do you not see this as being and issue, because you haven't experienced this.....yet?

Finally, I want to be clear in my position: I want this to succeed! I want private businesses to thrive in this market and I want the customers to be able to rely on the infrastructure. Otherwise I think this will be a catastrophe waiting to happen, that will cause fear for those thinking of making the switch to an EV and then they go buy the F-450 Super Max Diesel Twin Turbo with dual stack exhaust tubes forked up to the sky and it acts more of a smoke-screen as they accelerate than it does anything else. ?

Where is Buttigieg and the DOT creating standards on this matter? :bandit: are they duck and covering, or :ninja: disappearing, or just looking at their tie for the day because they have a 'driver' that takes care of these things for them? :bow: Seriously....why have engineers who's job it is to plan for redundancy and cost/time to breakdown, not having a say in any of this proposed language, ordinances, bills, contract language, etc????:whatsgoingon:


It reminds me of building the Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai (the largest one) and forgetting to connect it to a central sewage line, so they have trucks lined up for miles every day just to pump the excrement out of the tower.....and it is not even at full operational capacity yet.....there is a high correlation to what I feel is going on here. Build this grand architecture and pay no attention on how we will maintain it.....the 'messaging and the story' will be: we built it :cool: .....NOOOOOOO, this is not right!

Where am I wrong here? I am open to feedback, what am I missing? I am sure one of you has the 'easy button' solution at your fingertips....please enlighten me!
 
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Bill33525

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I have had to travel around the Northeast over the last month and have almost have had to been towed more times than I would like (zero would be the preference) due to charging stations not having the CCS plug working. Almost all of these have been EVgo and on PlugShare they did not show as down, nor did the Porsche Intelligent (or lack of intelligence) Range Planner pick up these as non-functional.

The worst case, was down to 1% and had to plug into a standard Lv2 charger for a few HOURS, just to go the last 20miles to get to a ChargePoint fast (relatively at 66kW) charger, in order to keep working.

Am I the rarity? Or are others seeing the charging infrastructure across the board not being maintained this winter and leaving us in precarious predicaments?

Are any other owners seeing the same issues as I am and is this concerning to you? A few questions:
1. is there a better app than PlugShare to know the updated status of charging stations?
2. Is there a setting that perhaps I don't have on with the Intelligent Range Manager that will pull the available stations to set charging to points that actually are functioning?
3. Any other tips and or tricks that you are using to ensure that the charging station is working so you don't end up going to a station with low charging %, only to have to find something else close (which may not be so close) and limp there when it is zero degrees and the miles just disappear with every hill you climb?

Not sure of others, but this is my first winter with the Taycan and the rapid battery discharge, combined with the lack of maintenance of the EV charging network (all providers), at least in more rural areas of the Northeast has me really questioning the reliability at the current state of charging coverage.

Any help, feedback, commiseration, ideas are welcome!

Thanks,
Download the EVgo app to your phone to check realtime status on chargers. I have the E.A. and several other charger brands on my phone. Unfortunately, the CCS public charger network is not very reliable yet and many times there are no backup chargers nearby, as you have found.
PlugShare can alert you to recent problems which can be helpful in planning a route. Checking the route ahead of time seems to be necesssary at this time.

I too am disappointed in the length of time everyone takes to restore a failed charger to sevice. EVgo, for example, installed a nice pair of 200 kW chargers in Norfolk Va and then the site was down for a month. E.A. is notorous for defective plugs out of service for long lengts of time.

Eventually, I see the oil companies getting into the charger busines and then we will have many choices at every interstate exit.
 
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TycanNewHampshire

TycanNewHampshire

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I found this article from our neighbor to the North in Ottawa, who seems to be preaching my message! I agree with almost everything in here.....we need to take heed. https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca...not-ambitious-enough-industry-group-says.html

When I say "We" that's a lot of "We's", from the driver-advocate, to local town aldermen, to state regulators, environmental advocates, Federal DOT, Lawmakers writing infrastructure and alternative energy bills, to shareholders of the publicly listed charging networks, to your local brand of EV forum, to get them all aware, talking about it and working together to create a reliable charging network that is operational, usable and maintained.
It seems like the Tesla network, works when needed, has enough banks at each location and is robust enough to create a mesh-network almost everywhere you need it, yes? So, why reinvent the wheel and simply install stations next to the company that has it figured out???? Even better, when/if they open these up to other plug/car-types, we are all going to the same place and one can then invest in to accommodations like windshield washer fluid, windshield washing buckets, paper towels, garbage cans, convenience food and drink, restrooms, wifi to watch netflix while charging, a 'check-in system' to get in a que, or remotely reserve a bank as you enter in your ETA, a common network showing how many are available, serviceable or under-repair, directions to the next closest station if these are not working or full and you don't have time......should this not just be the BASICS of an EV service station if we are expected to see so many new EV's on the road in the future?

Perhaps I should have put this in the Charging Section vs. just New England, as this is really effecting us all, but my prompt was driving around New England. Perhaps I will provide a link to get this discussion going....I can't be the only one feeling this pain and angst, no?
 
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Jrkennedy37

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Eventually, I see the oil companies getting into the charger busines and then we will have many choices at every interstate exit.
I agree with this. If you look at what Shell and BP have accomplished in Europe, it’s clearly a focus and massive growth opportunity in the states. Not sure if this is true, but I’ve always heard that gas margins are tiny, like a few cents per gallon. Imagine if they made a few cents per kWh? Will be way more lucrative with 80-200kwh batteries, especially as rapid charging times improve. I could see the cost structure improving for them too without the need for gas truck refills as well as the liability of gas and fumes being ever present.
 


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TycanNewHampshire

TycanNewHampshire

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Download the EVgo app to your phone to check realtime status on chargers.......
@Bill33525 , this is a great idea in theory! I forgot to mention that I do have this app as well as chargepoint, Blink and the EA app. Unfortunately for the EVgo app it showed available and not in service due to the CHadmo plugs somehow working, but the CSS were all non functional once I got there with the 'ghostbuster' no circle around that tab. I asked why the app did not show this and they said that the entire charger is not out. So, I got wise and started asking them to look up each one on their system and all were down for over an hours drive in any direction for CSS.
I finally found a Chargepoint that I limped to and almost didn't make it.
Why is this not centralized on a common platfrom with simple API, ETL or even an RSS or XML feed from all vendors into a common app for real-time updates?
Thanks for the tip.....keep'em coming, there has to be a better way!
 

Bill33525

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Other than a political talking point, public charging is not a priority nor is EV adoption in US. The cars are too expensive, the charging experience is not very good and most importantly there is no meaningful user experience improvement over ICE. The horse and buggy was replaced by the automobile because it was a better overall experience, more practical and had greater utility and range.

The infrastructure will take a very long time to enjoy widespread adoption in the US.
Also, the public charging economics make no sense. Why would anyone pay .43 kWh (for a public use charger) when they can charge at home for .08-.13 kWh - Road trip exception of course.

Most public charging stations are in areas that are remote at night, off the beaten path or in a Walmart, Target or like that are deserted at night. I would not want my SO, wife or partner alone in that situation. Hopefully, this will change with new builds.
I've been driving electric for two years and have charged after dark witout any issues what so ever despite the looks of things. However, when I was driving gas I've been approached numerous times by young people [not black] pan-handling for cash here in Central Florida at well lite stations. This could be just a Florida thing taking advantage of the senior population but that's my experience so far.

I will admit not liking to stop at Walmart to charge and hope other businesses will install fast chargers in the near future. EVgo seems to be at better locations for example.

Finally, lets hope that all phases of EV adoption picks up speed this year.
 

ElGordo

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More fundamental is that marketing for Porsche indicates fast charge times, yet I have yet to achieve anything close to a 270 kWh charge at any 350kw EA site

Florida
Virginia
New Jersey
New York
Connecticut
Rhode Island
Massachusetts

Has anyone in the North East actually achieved 270kwh? If so can you document where?
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