In 2019, the Maryland Public Service Commission approved a pilot program allowing five utility companies to own and operate public charging stations. By regulation, these utilities must maintain a 97% uptime for their charging stations. This means each charging port must be operational and supply electricity at least 97% of the time annually.
Methodology
In September and October 2024, I conducted a series of virtual “charger audits,” using the ChargeHub, Shell Recharge and ChargePoint apps to check the online status of every charging port in the utility networks. While on-site audits are ideal, weekly virtual audits provide a practical way to track the system’s performance remotely.
Data Charts
The following charts illustrate the data collected from these virtual charger audits.
The people of Prince George’s County, Maryland may benefit from more electric vehicle charging infrastructure being installed in new residential and commercial construction, thanks to the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure in Multifamily and Commercial Developments Act (CB-105-2024). The bill, which recently passed its first phase through the County Council, would require new and significantly renovated developments to include EV charging stations or “EV-Ready” infrastructure in parking lots and garages.
Key Amendments to the Bill
Initially, the legislation proposed that 20% of parking spaces be EV-Ready (pre-wired with a dedicated 40A circuit) and an additional 60% be EV-Capable (having panel capacity and raceways to support future installation). However, recent amendments reduced the EV-Ready requirement to 10%, and the EV-Capable mandate was removed entirely. Additionally, the start date for these requirements has been delayed from January 1, 2025, to January 1, 2027.
Supporting Access to EV Charging
Councilmember Wala Blegay, a key supporter of the bill, believes the legislation is crucial for making EV charging more accessible and convenient for residents. “I personally wanted to buy an EV but frankly didn’t because I saw there were limitations on where I could charge.”
Ensuring Charging Station Reliability
A key provision of the bill is the EVSE Maintenance Standard, which places responsibility on property owners to maintain EV charging stations in “good condition in all respects, including the functioning of equipment” ensuring that equipment remains functional and reliable—a growing concern in EV infrastructure.
The Tesla Supercharger in Hanover, Maryland is located on the third level of the parking garage at the Hotel at Arundel Preserve. It features eight charging stalls, each capable of delivering up to 72 kW of power.
Unknown No public record of construction cost since this did not receive public funding.
Electricity Usage
See Graph for a visual representation of monthly electricity consumption as recorded by the meter.
Site Information
Location Address: 7795 Arundel Mills Blvd., Hanover, MD 21076 County: Anne Arundel Facility Type: Parking Garage Coordinates: 39.153270, -76.743849 Directions: On third floor of parking garage at Hotel at Arundel Preserve. Map Link: OpenStreetMap
Potomac Edison owns and operates a Level 2 electric vehicle charging station in the town of Clear Spring, Maryland. The charging station is located in a public parking lot on N. Hawbaker Cir., one block north of National Pike/Cumberland Street. It’s about a 0.4 mile walk to the library and about 0.3 mile from McDonald’s. The two-port Level 2 charging station is part of Potomac Edison’s EV Driven program and uses the ChargePoint network.
$22,554.71 Total site construction cost plus $560.00 annual operating cost
Revenue vs Electricity Cost
-$241.39 Deficit (Since Inception)
Metric
Amount
Energy Used
252 kWh
Revenue
$44.52
Electricity Cost
$285.91
Deficit
-$241.39
Note: This calculation only reflects the difference between electricity costs and revenue as of June 30, 2024. Other operating expenses, such as maintenance and repair costs, are not included.
Electricity Usage
Clear Spring, MD – EV charging utilization Jan. 1 to Jun. 30, 2024
Site Information
Location Address: N Hawbaker Cir, Clear Spring, MD 21722 County: Washington Facility Type: Parking Lot Coordinates: 39.657069, -77.930968 Directions: At SE corner of parking lot on N Hawbaker Cir. Map Link: OpenStreetMap
Pepco manages an EV charging station at Acredale Community Park in College Park, Maryland, with four Level 2 chargers. As of October 10, 2024, all four have been offline for nearly six months. EV drivers have been unable to use this site—which opened two years ago—due to what Pepco describes in their semi-annual report to the Public Service Commission as “communication issues.” Filed on August 1, 2024, the report notes that the “location requires troubleshooting.” This prolonged outage, which appears to have an easy fix, has left EV drivers frustrated and ratepayers—who funded these stations—feeling deprived.
$91,954 Total site construction cost per the Maryland PSC PC44 EV Pilot Program
Category
Amount
Labor
$54,091
Materials
$24,349
Network
$5,830
Utility
$7,684
Total
$91,954
Revenue vs Electricity Cost
-$438.87 Deficit (Since Inception)
Metric
Amount
Energy Used
3,449 kWh
Revenue
$564.82
Electricity Cost
$1,003.69
Deficit
-$438.87
Note: This calculation only reflects the difference between electricity costs and revenue as of June 30, 2024. Other operating expenses, such as maintenance and repair costs, are not included.
Electricity Throughput Trend
Acredale Community Park EV charging monthly usage trend in kWh
Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) owns and operates this EV charging station at the Charlotte Hall Library in St. Mary’s County, MD. It has a single DC fast charger rated at 50 kW. See all the pertinent details below.
Charger Construction Cost
$106,688.75 Total site construction cost per the Maryland PSC PC44 EV Pilot Program
Category
Amount
Equipment
$81,064.13
Contractor
$5,000.00
Network
$7,138.00
Utility
$13,486.62
Total
$106,688.75
Electricity Cost vs Revenue
$1,393.17 Surplus (Since Inception)
Metric
Amount
Energy Used
31,070 kWh
Revenue
$9,028.82
Electricity Cost
$7,635.65
Surplus
$1,393.17
Note: This calculation only reflects the difference between electricity costs and revenue as of June 30, 2024. Other operating expenses, such as maintenance and repair costs, are not included.
Trend Graph: Monthly Electricity Dispensed in kWh
Charlotte Hall Library EV charging monthly usage trend in kWh
Site Information
Location Address: 37600 New Market Rd., Charlotte Hall, MD 20622 County: St. Mary’s Facility Type: Library Coordinates: 38.4732855, -76.7764742 Directions: At SE corner of library parking lot. Map Link: OpenStreetMap
Baltimore Gas and Electric owns and operates this EV charging station at the Whitmore Garage in Annapolis, MD. Located on a lower floor of the pay parking garage.
Charger Construction Cost
$151,474 Total site construction cost per the Maryland PSC PC44 EV Pilot Program
Category
Amount
Labor
$90,702
Material
$48,872
Network Fees
$11,900
Utility Administration
–
Total
$151,474
Electricity Cost vs Revenue
-$15,825.25 Deficit (Since Inception)
Metric
Amount
Energy Used
23,843 kWh
Revenue
$4,981.42
Electricity Cost
$20,806.67
Deficit
-$15,825.25
Note: This calculation only reflects the difference between electricity costs and revenue as of June 30, 2024. Other operating expenses, such as maintenance and repair costs, are not included.
Trend Graph: Monthly Electricity Dispensed in kWh
Whitmore Garage EV charging monthly usage trend in kWh
Site Information
Location Address: 37 Clay St., Annapolis, Maryland 21401 County: Anne Arundel Facility Type: Pay Parking Garage Coordinates: 38.978757, -76.496354 Directions: Enter the parking garage from Clay Street. Map Link: OpenStreetMap
Delmarva Power and Light owns and operates this 50 kW EV charging station at Wye Mills Park and Ride, Lot B in Wye Mills, MD. Located at the intersection of Route 50 and Route 404, this DC Fast Charger is on the way to the Maryland and Delaware beaches.
Charger Construction Cost
$178,072 total site construction cost per the Maryland PSC PC44 EV Pilot Program
Labor
Matl
Netwk
Admin
Total
$114,370
$48,075
$2,862
$12,765
$178,072
Profit/Loss – Revenue vs Electricity Bill
-$4,292.21 (Loss) Since opening on 12/29/22 to 06/30/24
kWh
Revenue
Elec. Bill
Profit
25,300
$7,771.22
$12,063.43
-$4,292.21 (Loss)
Trend Graph: Monthly Electricity Dispensed in kWh
Wye Mills Park and Ride EV charging monthly usage trend in kWh
Site Information
Location Address: 101 Wye Trading Dr., Wye Mills, Maryland 21679 County: Queen Anne’s Facility Type: Parking Lot Coordinates: 38.93961, -76.06308 Directions: In the parking lot on the western side of Route 50 at Route 404. Map Link: OpenStreetMap
This virtual charger audit of Maryland’s Tesla Superchargers is intended to complement my ongoing assessments of utility-owned public charging stations. The aim is to compile independent data points to evaluate charger reliability against the state’s 97% uptime target.
On October 4, 2024, I used the Tesla app to check the availability of all 531 Tesla Supercharger stalls across 59 active locations in Maryland. Each Supercharger location in Maryland has between four and 16 stalls.
Overall Port Availability on 10-04-2024: 99.1%
The audit found that 5 out of 531 Supercharger stalls (0.9%) were reported as out of order in the Tesla app, resulting in an overall availability of 99.1%.
Maryland Supercharger Status on 10-04-2024
This level of availability aligns with the consistently high reliability of Tesla Supercharger ports that I documented during the summer of 2023. During those months, we drove to hundreds of Supercharger locations across the United States. Often, we visited more than a dozen sites in a single day without encountering any problems and being able to charge on the first attempt.
Potomac Edison (PE) operates a network of 20 DC fast chargers and 77 Level 2 ports spread across 43 locations in its service area. As a regulated utility, PE is required to maintain 97% uptime for its charging stations.
October 3, 2024 Charger Audit Results
This virtual charger audit of PE’s EV Driven network found mostly favorable results. While all DC fast chargers were online and available, two Level 2 ports were essentially “offline” due to their absence from online directories.
Key Findings:
DC Fast Chargers: 100% availability.
Level 2 Ports: 97% availability (75/77 ports).
Myersville Town Hall: A previously listed dual-port Level 2 station has mysteriously disappeared from online directories.
Issues and Concerns:
Missing Level 2 Ports: The absence of two Level 2 ports from online directories makes it difficult for EV drivers to locate and use them.
Myersville Town Hall Station: The reason for the station’s removal from online directories remains unclear. Parking restrictions and potential conflicts may have played a role.
Recommendations:
Update Online Directories: Potomac Edison should ensure that all charging stations are accurately listed and updated in online directories.
Investigate Myersville Town Hall Station: PE should investigate the reasons for the station’s disappearance and work with local authorities to address any issues including onsite signage.
Improve Communication: PE should provide clear communication to EV drivers about charging station availability and any known issues.
Overall, while Potomac Edison has achieved a high availability rate for its DC fast chargers and Level 2 ports, the uncertainty surrounding the Myersville Town Hall station is an issue that could be addressed to improve the overall user experience.
Detailed Audit Results
On October 3, 2024, I conducted a virtual charger audit of PE’s “EV Driven” network, checking the status of all 97 charging ports using ChargeHub and ChargePoint apps. Notably, both DC fast chargers at the Rocky Gap Resort, previously reporting as “Out of Service” last week, are now online and available.
Myersville Town Hall Station
The dual-port Level 2 station installed at Myersville Town Hall in May 2022 has disappeared from both the ChargePoint app and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center.
A notable change at this location is the removal of the “no parking except while charging” sign, leaving a “parking for town business only” restriction in place. The town indicated that this decision followed several verbal altercations over parking access to the charging station. I don’t know whether these incidents are related to the station’s removal from the map, but it could be a factor.
Myersville, MD Town Hall – anti-ICEing signs removedRead More …
