Earlier this year, we took an EV day trip to the eastern shore and visited the small town of Betterton in Kent County, Maryland.
Jewel of the Chesapeake
Betterton, known as the Jewel of the Chesapeake, was a popular beach resort in the early 1900s. People would cross the bay on steamboats to enjoy summer days and nights at the beach. Betterton was replete with hotels, restaurants, dance halls, taverns and amusement arcades. The resort town declined in popularity in the 1930s due to the depression and the rise of the automobile which enabled easier access to the Atlantic beaches such as Ocean City.
Today, Betterton is a quiet community where many have come to retire or have a second home. There are two restaurants in town including Marzella’s by the Bay where we ordered lunch to go during our visit.
Utility-Owned Level 2 Stations
There are two electric vehicle charging stations located behind the Betterton Town Hall at 100 Main Street. The stations were installed by Delmarva Power as part of an EV charging pilot program approved by the Maryland Public Service Commission. Delmarva owns the stations and Greenlots is the network operator that collects payments and handles customer service.
$71,612 for Labor, Material and Overhead
The total cost for the two Level 2 stations was $71,612 according to a report filed with the Maryland PSC. The implementation cost for the Betterton EV charging site is broken down as follows:
$26,663 Labor
$17,387 Material
$27,562 Utility Admin & Overhead
$71,612 Total EVSE location cost
Four Charges in Nine Months
Our charging session lasted an hour and 34 minutes when we were there on March 14th. We gained 11.8 kWh during that time for a total cost of $2.12. According to records, our charging session that afternoon was one of only four times that these charging stations have been used since they opened on October 1, 2020.
Revenue and Expenses
The four charging sessions between Oct. 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021 are detailed below with the dates, kWh dispensed and the total cost to the EV driver.
10-13-2021, 5.4 kWh, $0.97
02-14-2021, 3.4 kWh, $0.61
03-14-2021, 11.8kWh, $2.12
06-27-2021, 20.7kWh, $3.72
Revenue from the Betterton EV charging stations during those nine months was $7.42. The total bill for electric service for the charging site during that period was $97.54 for a deficit of ($90.12).
Questionable Uptime
The reliability statistics given in the report are said to be based on Greenlot’s Sky network dashboard. Together, Delmarva Power and Pepco had a total of 39 charging stations which were combined for a reported 98% aggregate uptime.
Based on Greenlot’s Sky network dashboard, PHI Utilities report the Companies’ 39 charging stations have an aggregate uptime of 98% which represents station reliability.
PHI Mid-Course Program Evaluation and Semi-Annual Progress Report, Sept. 15, 2021
There’s been at least one report from an EV driver who was unable to charge at the Betterton charging stations due to the app saying they were offline. It’s hard to tell how much time they have spent offline because the uptime report has no information on the uptime of individual charging stations.
Concerns About Reliability Expressed to Maryland PSC
It was suggested that reliability reports include data from the individual charging stations in a letter to the Maryland Public Service Commission submitted by Mark Czajka, Director of MD Volt, Inc. in March. Hopefully, future reports will provide this information.
We believe that minimizing the downtime of public charging stations is crucial to building public confidence in the charging network. The operational status of each DC fast charger connector should be functional at least 99% of the time which is consistent with present industry goals. We respectfully suggest that future reliability reporting of the uptime percentage of public charging stations in the Semi-Annual Reports be granular to the individual station level. This will help the Commission and the public to evaluate and ensure that charger reliability is equitably distributed.
MD Volt Inc. – Comments. Case No. 9478 (ML 234165)
Se also [Advocating for EV Charger Reliability at the Maryland PSC]
Betterton, Maryland is well worth a visit. Let us know if you go there and what your EV charging experience is like.
