Costco - Now providing 350kw DC Charging Stations

[feye]

Opening tomorrow in Pleasanton CA- 350kw chargers- no idea at this point how good they are , the cost etc... will provide an update when I charge there- unless one of the forum members beats me to it... - update - if you look at the pictures closely it says electrify america on the chargers... don't know if that means its a standard EA station or if you need a Costco card and an EA account to charge there....

New charger, but "old" CCS plug?

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[daveo4EV]

New charger, but "old" CCS plug?

correct - there are few if any NACS non-Tesla EV's at this point - they will be transitioning to NACS cords/plugs over time - but adapter are here to stay for at least a decade…

 

[feye]

correct - there are few if any NACS non-Tesla EV's at this point - they will be transitioning to NACS cords/plugs over time - but adapter are here to stay for at least a decade…

Means it will never happen? Why should all these companies spend money for nothing? Because of a loony?

My guess: T junk will change over or go bust within 10 years!
In the long run a complete new technology will come for charging, because charging on any standard totally and utter sucks! Just the cables alone are too heavy and too ugly to use.

 

[Zcd1]

The Costco I went to had six chargers. There was a queue almost all the time I was there. I was definitely thinking that six was not enough for such a huge store.

So while any new non-Tesla DCFC is a good thing, 6 chargers is way too few to make sense.

Think of this like gas stations - when was the last time you saw a new gas station with fewer than 8 pumps?? If anything, EV charging stations should have MORE chargers than a new gas station has pumps - not less.

 

[Flying ace]

I didn't know yesterday was also the grand opening of that particular Pleasanton Costco. It appears installing EA chargers is a major initiative by Costco when they open new stores

 

[irrelevant]

Two things....

1. How long will the lines be for these chargers, once Costco offers a 1-cent discount per KW/h to members? Look at the queues to buy gasoline there for reference.

2. While I welcome more fast DCFC's, Costco isn't the destination that needs them. For the money spent installing 8 350KW DCFC's, I suspect they could install 24 50 KW units, and given how long it takes to find what you need, get through the checkout line, then through the "did you steal anything from us" line, no one would realize any difference in time required to charge.

The charging infrastructure could be better developed by matching charging speeds with the type of destination. There's no reason to install 350KW dispensers at hotels...an example I saw in Texas recently. Install three dozen 50-amp AC outlets there at 1/10 the cost.

Put the 350's at locations where the vehicle will be parked a half hour or less.

 

[SergeyIndy]

I just hit one of the EA stations at Costco yesterday. I didn't realize it was a Costco until I pulled in. Ending up making an ad hoc grocery run. The car averaged 170 kW/hour. It charged so fast (on my 2025) that it went from 23% to 94% by the time I dashed in for just a few things. EV charging was right near the entrance. I'll definitely be back.

Please expand on the experience. Was this setup as any other EA station that supports Plug and Charge and free to use for Taycans?

 

[matrix]

Seems to be part of EA chargers. I was curious to look this up and did find on Chargefinder app that it is available. I use this app all the time to find good info about charging stations here in Europe and was surprised that all US chargers also seems to be listed with realtime info for all the networks.

This location should be compatible with Plug & Charge since it is part of the EA network

Here is a link to the Costco charger in Sacramento:
https://chargefinder.com/en/charging-station-sacramento-costco-natomas-sacramento-ca/pr7znj

Cool also that you can see how many minutes every charge point has been occupied/available

 

[Flying ace]

Two things....

1. How long will the lines be for these chargers, once Costco offers a 1-cent discount per KW/h to members? Look at the queues to buy gasoline there for reference.

2. While I welcome more fast DCFC's, Costco isn't the destination that needs them. For the money spent installing 8 350KW DCFC's, I suspect they could install 24 50 KW units, and given how long it takes to find what you need, get through the checkout line, then through the "did you steal anything from us" line, no one would realize any difference in time required to charge.

The charging infrastructure could be better developed by matching charging speeds with the type of destination. There's no reason to install 350KW dispensers at hotels...an example I saw in Texas recently. Install three dozen 50-amp AC outlets there at 1/10 the cost.

Put the 350's at locations where the vehicle will be parked a half hour or less.

That's my thoughts too. If Costco offers a discount, good luck finding a stall.

A typical Costco shopping trip is 30-45 minutes. Costco's incentive should be to install 50kw or 100kw stations. Otherwise at 350, it'll cause many people to incur idle fees

 

[daveo4EV]

it'll cause many people to incur idle fees

all part of the plan

 

[kmcdonal]

Please expand on the experience. Was this setup as any other EA station that supports Plug and Charge and free to use for Taycans?

Yup, worked as any other EA station. I used plug and charge and didn't pay anything. Only difference was that the chargers were about 50 feet from the front entrance of a huge Costco so it was insanely busy.

 

[daveo4EV]

Yup, worked as any other EA station. I used plug and charge and didn't pay anything. Only difference was that the chargers were about 50 feet from the front entrance of a huge Costco so it was insanely busy.

yeah I prefer charging stalls in the corners of the parking lots that have less traffic - trying to maneuver into a charging stall around busy pedestrians and other cars is hell…

 

[Flying ace]

Alright which one of y'all charged here already??

Not surprised by the reported icing. Close to door parking at Costco is at a premium.

They should embarrass the owner by announcing the car color type and plate number over the store intercom

 

[Gino]

Opening tomorrow in Pleasanton CA- 350kw chargers- no idea at this point how good they are , the cost etc... will provide an update when I charge there- unless one of the forum members beats me to it... - update - if you look at the pictures closely it says electrify america on the chargers... don't know if that means its a standard EA station or if you need a Costco card and an EA account to charge there....

From what I’ve read it appears the roll out of Costco charging stations will be with Costco branded chargers and Costco pricing for members only charging. I believe if they are EA chargers then they will be available to anyone just like the Tesla chargers and will likely be at the same high cost per kWh that EA charges everywhere to make up for their free charging contracts with EV dealers.

 

[PNWTaycan4S]

Keep l mind that you'll need to show your Costco receipt once done with charging. They'll count the KW's and give you a yellow highlighter mark if you pass muster.

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