How long should a public EV charging station be down? Should broken chargers be fixed within 24 hours? 48 hours? A week? What if the local power company owns the charging station, what then would be your expectation?
Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) convinced the Maryland Public Service Commission to allow them to enter the electric vehicle charging market. One of the assurances they made was that they could provide reliable service. They were quoted about EV charging reliability in the Baltimore Sun…
“BGE is being held to the same reliability standards as our electric distribution system, so they must be operational at all times. … Customers will have the sense of ease that they can go to a BGE charger and that it will be working and operational.”
Baltimore Sun/Carroll County Times June 14, 2019
3 Weeks in September
In early September 2021, an EV driver posted a Tweet that both fast chargers at Kenhill Center in Bowie, MD were faulted and asked Greenlots and BGE how long it would take to get them repaired.
I added to the thread that both fast chargers in Essex, MD were also reporting as inoperable due to a fault condition. BGE responded via Twitter that they were aware of the outages at both locations. They explained that all four units appeared to be experiencing an internal capacitor issue. They said they were working with the chargers’ manufacturer, Tritium, to replace the failed components.
The chargers in Essex had been open for only a few months. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan had cut the ribbon for these in April with much fanfare alongside BGE CEO Carim Khouzami. “Today is an important step forward to expanding access to electric vehicle charging across the state and encouraging more Marylanders to purchase and use electric vehicles,” the Governor said. Now both units were dead.
It took three weeks before the chargers were back online. And even then, only one of the chargers in Essex was working. The other remained offline for at least several more weeks.
Equal Access to Reliable Stations
The area around the BGE owned and operated EV chargers in Essex has some of the worst air quality in the U.S. according to the EPA Environmental Justice screening map.
That area also is in a disadvantaged community (DAC) as identified on the Electric Vehicle Charging Justice40 Map that is used to help align the Justice40 goal of 40% of the benefits of Federal investments in clean transportation going to disadvantaged communities.
What good is placing EV chargers in underserved communities if they cannot be maintained in working order?
98% Uptime?
In a December 14, 2020 post on their website that touted 98% uptime of their charging network, BGE said, “By owning and operating a charging network, we can provide that same level of reliability for the chargers as we do for our customers’ electric and gas service at their homes and businesses.” [Reliability of BGE’s EV charging network benefits area drivers]
However, at a hearing before the Maryland Public Service Commission on October 13, 2021, BGE admitted that the aggregate uptime of their charging network was somewhat less than 98%. In fact, they are asking the Commission to approve an additional million dollars of ratepayer funds to enter into an enhanced maintenance contract with Greenlots that they claim will guarantee that 98% uptime is achieved.
This was discussed at the October 13, 2021 public hearing on the Mid-Course Review of the EV Pilot Program of the Maryland utilities. On the subject of the proposal to budget $1,000,000 to ensure 98% uptime, Commissioner Mindy L. Herman asked BGE, “Are you telling me that your existing contract is for so-so service and therefore we need to get better service? Why wasn’t your existing contract for maintenance at 98%? What did you contract for, 65%?”
One Million Dollars
At the end of the hearing the Commissioners opened the meeting for public comment over Zoom video. I spoke for five minutes about the reliability of public charging from an EV driver’s point of view.
I set up my video camera in front of a broken BGE charging station at Howard County Community College. The broken charger had an “Out of Order” sign on it. I wanted to show, as well as tell, what EV drivers are faced with when chargers don’t work. That particular charger had been offline for at least a month at that point. I spoke against the proposal to add $1,000,000 to the budget in order for the utility to meet their previously promised reliability metrics.
As a ratepayer and as an EV driver, I cannot support $1 million for, as what Commissioner Herman said, to go from [95%] to 98% guaranteed uptime for 2 1/2 years. That almost seems like a ransom. Like, “You’ve got these nice charging stations, now if you want them to work, you’ve got to give me a million dollars.”
Transparency and Accountability
If utility ratepayers and taxpayers are going to fund public charging such as the $7.5 billion slated for the federal infrastructure program, then there must be transparency and accountability to the public. The Parking Authority of Baltimore City stressed this in their recent comments to the Federal Highway Administration regarding the development of guidance for electric vehicle charging infrastructure deployment.
Station uptime requirements not only ensures a minimum level of service to the driver by guaranteeing the station is online and available for use, but it also acts as an important insurance policy to provide good stewardship of public dollars. Broken chargers fail to provide a public good, and each time a charger goes offline, the return on investment in the charger is diluted.
Parking Authority of Baltimore City – Comments to Federal Highway Administration
Maryland Delegate Brooke Lierman who sits on the House Environment and Transportation Committee has expressed agreement for transparency and accountability for the reliability of EV charging that is funded by public dollars. She drives a Chevy Bolt EV and tweeted that she has come close to being stranded due to broken charging stations.
Decision Time
The situation with the chargers doesn’t seem to be improving. As of this morning, 16 out of 59 BGE fast chargers are reporting a problem on the Greenlots app. That’s potentially 27% of their fast chargers being offline.
It’s been two months since the Mid-Course Review hearing. What will the PSC decide?
What about that charger with the “Out of Order” sign from the October hearing? The paper sign has endured two more months out in the elements. The charger is still broken.
