I cannot
emphasize enough the frustration EV drivers experience with non
Tesla DC fast charging, especially lower income who drive earlier
models that can only afford models whose batteries only have a low
range of miles. Recently while charging I chatted with a driver who
owned one of the first Leafs who told me he doesn't have the miles
to experience a non-functioning charger and has spent hours on the
phone with the company to get the charge to initiate. “I
don’t regret driving an EV, but the chargers are a
nightmare.”
Recently, I
tried to help an older couple get a charge initiated for their
brand new Ford Mach E. We were outside a Walmart in Santa Rosa
baking in the sun. The husband had tried repeatedly to get the
charger to start. He tried his app, he tried a credit card, and he
tried plugging in again and again to get the machine to give him
the miles he needed to get home after a trip to the wine country.
He asked his wife to help and then grew frustrated and began to
yell at her. I tried letting them use my app, but nothing worked.
Here was a
couple trying to do the right thing by driving a car with zero
emissions to fight climate change and air pollution. People doing
the right thing shouldn’t have to suffer because our DCFC
rollout causes doesn’t function. I have yet to meet an EV
driver who isn’t angry and 20% go back to gas cars because of
this.
We have to
have enforceable standards for any EVSE getting public and federal
dollars. This means a mandatory escrow account with funds devoted
to maintenance so the companies can’t ignore this critical
component; mandatory reporting of data with a 97% uptime
requirement. The Air Resource Board and the California Energy
Commission need to commit to funding a unit charged with holding
companies accountable.
I recently
drove to Santa Cruz and saw on my plug share app a fast charger I
needed to get enough miles to reach my destination. The winding
hills took me by surprise and quickly depleted my miles. When I got
to the fast charger both wouldn’t start with either of my two
credit cards or my app. I was down to thirty miles and that is a
horrible feeling I have experienced several times because of broken
or malfunctioning chargers. Luckily I could drive to another
location with a charger that worked.
We cannot
go on like this and cannot expect an equitable transition to zero
emission vehicles if this isn’t immediately fixed. Residents
living in apartments or other Multi Unit Dwelling have no other
option and depend on fast charging to work. Asking them to suffer
from a dysfunctional system while homeowners have the luxury of
charging at home isn’t just or fair. Companies need to fix
their existing system before they receive any additional funding
and then the funding provided must mandate a worry free
infrastructure. Anything less is a recipe for a return to gas cars
and allowing climate change and air pollution to destroy our state.
This can be done and I fully expect it will be.
Respectfully,
Susannah
Saunders
Founder of
Indivisible Ross Valley