Suggestion for Reserving CHAdeMO Dispenser

Dear Electrify America:

I had a bad experience at an Electrify America charging station yesterday. There were six dispensers. One was in use, five were available. Unfortunately, none of the available dispensers had the CHAdeMO port I needed.

The only dispenser with a CHAdeMO port was already in use by an Audi etron plugged in to the CCS side of the only CHAdeMO/CCS dispenser.

I waited for the driver to return. The charge continued to 100% and stopped. No driver returned. The CHAdeMO remained unusable as the etron was still plugged in. The ten-minute grace period elapsed and then idle fees started accruing. The driver still didn’t return.

It was frustrating that five other CCS-only stations were available but the only CHAdeMO equipped dispenser was occupied with a CCS vehicle.

The blame for this is on poor site design rather than on the EV driver, in my opinion. The vehicle had a temporary tag which suggests the driver may be new to using public charging.

To quickly, cheaply and easily mitigate this, please consider posting a sign that identifies and reserves the dispenser with the CHAdeMO port at each site. Encourage drivers of vehicles with CCS ports to leave that spot open for drivers of CHAdeMO-equipped vehicles.

Sign text example: RESERVED FOR CHAdeMO – PLEASE USE LAST

Ideally, I’d rather you add more CHAdeMO ports at each site.

Regards, Lanny