Public Chargers Owned by SMECO Report as of September 15, 2024
Maryland Utility-owned EV charging stations are required to maintain 97% uptime per a law (HB 834) that went into effect on October 1st, 2023. Quarterly uptime reports are required by the utilities as part of the statute. The data to be submitted as part of those reports will have to conform to a template that is still being developed by the Public Service Commission (PSC). It could be not until sometime in 2025 when the public will actually see the utilities’ detailed charger uptime reports. Until that data is available, EV drivers, rate payers and policy makers won’t have the information needed to hold the utilities accountable for the millions spent so far on the public EV charging pilot program.
The spreadsheet below is an attempt to gauge charger reliability until we get granular charger uptime data from the utilities. The charging station port IDs were reported as “offline” in the ChargeHub app and confirmed as offline in the Shell Recharge app when queried on September 15, 2024.
Of the 72 charging ports across 36 SMECO-owned locations, seven showed as offline (on September 15, 2024), representing about 10% of the total. Three sites were completely down with no operable charging plugs. There are three DC Fast Chargers in the SMECO network and one of those has been offline for months. The DCFC at Patuxent River Naval Air Museum apparently hasn’t worked since May. This is unacceptable and could lead to a major setback for EV adoption if not addressed, especially when the goal is 97% uptime for every charging port in Maryland.
In SMECO’s semi-annual report to the PSC, the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum DCFC was reported to have 62.8% uptime for the period ending June 30, 2024. The issue was described to be “Multiple hardware Failure and part replacement delays.”
Another site that is completely down is White Plains Regional Park. The uptime reported for the Q1-Q2, 2024 period was 62.8% with the reason noted to be “Vandalism.” Even if the cause is vandalism, there really needs to be a limit on the time that a charging station is to remain broken.
Unfortunately, there is no indication of when these charging stations will be back online. Until the PSC quarterly reports, which are required by law, are finally available to the public, we will have to closely monitor these stations ourselves. It is crucial that the PSC expedite the development of the required information for these reports, as this will enable the public and policymakers to hold utilities accountable for the ratepayer funds used to build and maintain these charging stations.
As an EV driver, you can play a role in improving the reliability of public charging stations. Share your charging experiences and post reviews on various apps such as Chargeway to raise awareness of any issues and pressure charging providers to maintain them. Your reviews can also help other drivers make informed decisions and avoid potential frustrations.
Discover more from Plug-In Sites
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.