On June 5, 2026, I filed the following letter with the Maryland Public Service Commission documenting the latest in a series of reliability failures at the BGE-owned DC fast chargers at BWI Airport, including a reported network disruption that left all ten chargers offline on June 4.
Re: Case No. 9478 – Recurring Reliability Failures at BWI Airport BGE Fast Chargers and Reported SWTCH Network Disruption
Dear Mr. Johnston,
I am filing this update regarding the ongoing reliability failures with BGE-owned DC fast chargers at BWI Airport and a reported SWTCH network disruption that, according to a customer service representative, affected a large sector of the network on June 4.
Background
This is not my first filing on this matter. On July 31, 2025 (ML 320870), I reported a safety hazard and numerous non-operational chargers at BWI to the Commission. On October 27, 2025 (ML 323675), I reported a SWTCH network outage that, according to a customer service representative I spoke with at the time, affected approximately 4,000 chargers across the network. On January 29, 2026 (ML 326644), I reported that 9 of 10 fast chargers at the two BWI sites were out of service during a period of extreme cold when we particularly need public charging.
BGE’s March 12, 2026 response, relayed through the Commission, reported that all Cell Phone Lot stations had been repaired by February 3 and that the Rideshare Lot stations had been repaired that same week, with the exception of station E1188/E1189, which required a power module rebuild. Parts had been received but repairs had been delayed by weather conditions. BGE reported that as of March 12, the Rideshare Lot had 4 of 6 stations operational and the Cell Phone Lot had 3 of 4 online, with two additional stations, E1190 at the Rideshare Lot and E1038/E1039 at the Cell Phone Lot, placed back under repair in early March due to unsuccessful charging sessions.
I also note that the BWI chargers are located on MDOT property and that reliability concerns at these sites were raised at the May 20, 2026 ZEEVIC meeting by ZEEVIC member Paul Verchinski, who noted that four of the ten chargers were offline or under repair as of that date. By May 28, 2026, seven of the ten chargers across both sites were under repair. On May 28, 2026, I recorded a video at the BWI Cell Phone Lot documenting that all four units had blank screens and were non-functional. That video is available at https://youtu.be/ZqutUXlZyN8 and is submitted as part of the record of this ongoing pattern of failures.
Current Status
As of approximately 1:30 PM on June 4, 2026, all ten BGE-owned fast chargers at BWI Airport were reported as under repair or offline. This includes all six at the Rideshare Staging Lot and all four at the Cell Phone Lot. Screenshots from the SWTCH app documenting the status of all ten chargers are attached as Exhibit A.
I called SWTCH customer support to confirm the status. A representative indicated that a large sector of the SWTCH network was down. I was unable to independently confirm the full scope of the disruption or whether RFID cards remained functional at affected stations.
The Pattern
BGE’s March 2026 response reported that the chargers affected by the January outage had been repaired, yet by early March two stations had already been placed back under repair due to unsuccessful charging sessions. On June 4, all ten chargers were offline again, this time coinciding with a reported SWTCH network disruption. This is not an isolated incident. The record in this docket documents repeated, substantial reliability failures at the BWI sites going back to at least July 2025.
BWI Airport is one of the most heavily utilized charging sites in the BGE network, serving rideshare drivers, airport patrons, and the general public. These drivers cannot easily divert to alternative locations, particularly rideshare drivers whose apps use geofencing that removes them from the passenger queue if they leave the lot to charge elsewhere.
I respectfully request that the Commission ask BGE to provide:
- An updated status report on both BWI sites including station E1188/E1189, which BGE indicated in March required parts that had already been procured and was pending suitable weather for repair.
- A root cause explanation for the June 4 outage, including whether it is attributable to the reported SWTCH network disruption, and what steps BGE and SWTCH are taking to prevent or mitigate the impact of future network disruptions. This is the second reported network-level disruption affecting utility-owned charging infrastructure that I am aware of, the first having been cited in my October 27, 2025 filing (ML 323675).
- An explanation of what process BGE has in place to restore entire sites that go offline due to causes such as circuit breaker interruptions, and what the expected timeline is for restoring service when a physical site visit is required.
The Commission has been monitoring BGE’s quarterly reliability reports and received BGE’s assurances of improvement. Recent events including the May 28 and June 4 situations suggest those assurances have not translated into durable reliability at the BWI Airport sites.
Sincerely,
Lanny Hartmann
