81% Online on September 18, 2024
Maryland EV drivers are facing a troubling reality: a significant portion of utility-owned public charging stations are chronically offline. Many EVsmart-branded stations in Pepco’s service territory have been out of service for weeks, with entire sites down for months. Of the 248 charging ports across 81 Pepco charging locations, 46 are currently offline (as of September 18, 2024), meaning 81% are operational today. However, this falls short of being on track to achieve the 97% annual uptime goal. Such unreliable infrastructure poses a serious threat to the state’s EV adoption targets.
Maryland utility-owned EV charging stations are required to meet uptime standards under Public Utilities Article §7–904, effective October 1, 2023. These standards require 97% uptime, in alignment with the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) requirements.
Per the statute, electric utility companies operating public EV charging stations must maintain this uptime level for each charging station.
…an electric company operating an EV charging network shall maintain uptime standards for each EV charging station in accordance with:
(i) federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure standards and requirements; or
(ii) alternative uptime standards and requirements approved by the Commission.
Md. Code, Public Utilities Article §7–904
The law also mandates quarterly reports that track uptime for each charging station over the preceding 12 months. Yet, the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) has not finalized the template for data submission. Without this granular data, EV drivers, ratepayers, and policymakers lack the necessary transparency to hold utilities accountable for the millions in ratepayer funds invested in Maryland’s public EV charging pilot program.
Online Charger Audit
In the absence of timely data from utilities, this online “charger audit” was launched to fill the gap and independently assess charger reliability. The audit involves querying individual charging ports within the Pepco public charging network using the ChargeHub app. Ports listed as “offline” are then cross-checked against the network’s native app, Shell Recharge.
As of the September 18, 2024 audit, 10 locations were found to have all charging ports offline. Most of these ports haven’t successfully charged a vehicle in over two weeks, suggesting a prolonged outage. This lack of redundancy adds to the challenges faced by EV drivers, who are already dealing with limited charging options.
List of Offline Charging Ports
One site, located at Schrom Hills Park in Greenbelt, has been down since mid-August. Below is a video illustrating what it’s like to attempt charging at these stations when they’re powered on but not communicating with the network.
The cost to use Pepco’s charging stations is regulated by the PSC, with fees set at $0.18/kWh for Level 2 and $0.34/kWh for DC fast charging, including Maryland’s 6% sales and use tax.
As an EV driver, you can help improve public charging reliability by sharing your experiences on crowd-sourced apps like ChargeHub, PlugShare, and Chargeway. Reporting issues and leaving reviews not only help station operators address problems but also assist fellow drivers in making informed charging decisions, avoiding potential headaches.
Stay tuned for updates on these and other charging networks in Maryland. Hopefully, these stations will be repaired soon, and the map will see fewer “offline” markers cluttering the landscape.
