In 2019, the Maryland Public Service Commission approved a pilot program allowing five utility companies to own and operate public charging stations. By regulation, these utilities must maintain a 97% uptime for their charging stations. This means each charging port must be operational and supply electricity at least 97% of the time annually.
Methodology
In September and October 2024, I conducted a series of virtual “charger audits,” using the ChargeHub, Shell Recharge and ChargePoint apps to check the online status of every charging port in the utility networks. While on-site audits are ideal, weekly virtual audits provide a practical way to track the system’s performance remotely.
Data Charts
The following charts illustrate the data collected from these virtual charger audits.
Charger Audit: BGE EVsmart Network, September 30, 2024
On September 30, 2024, I conducted a virtual “charger audit” of BGE’s EVsmart network, reviewing the status of all 648 charging ports. Unlike a physical audit—where each site is visited in person—this online audit uses the ChargeHub and Shell Recharge mobile apps to assess charger availability remotely.
While in-person audits would provide firsthand verification, they are impractical for networks of this scale. Virtual audits offer a feasible way to track reliability and measure performance against Maryland’s 97% uptime goal.
91% Availability on September 30, 2024
At the time of this audit, 91% of BGE’s charging ports were available or in use. This marks a consistent shortfall from the 97% uptime standard. A charger falls below 97% annual uptime if it is offline for more than 11 days per year, and many of these ports have already exceeded this threshold.
Charger reliability is crucial for Maryland’s electric vehicle adoption goals. Without dependable access, drivers may hesitate to switch to EVs, especially in areas with fewer charging options.
No Sites Completely Offline
In contrast to audits where entire charging sites were found completely offline, none of the 123 BGE EVsmart sites were entirely down during the September 30, 2024, audit. While 35 of these sites had at least one port out of service, every location still had at least one operational charger available. This distinction is significant for drivers, as it helps ensure access to charging, even at locations where some ports may be offline—a critical factor in areas with limited charging infrastructure.
In January 2019, the Maryland Public Service Commission approved a limited EV pilot program, paving the way for Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) to build a network of public EV charging stations. Today, BGE operates 123 charging locations across its service territory. The expectation—much like with their residential and commercial electric services—was to maintain high reliability standards for these chargers. BGE, alongside other pilot program utilities, are being held to a 97% uptime target, meaning each charging port (plug) should be operational at least 97% of the time annually.
Overall Port Availability on 09-23-2024: 89%
On September 23, 2024, I conducted a virtual “charger audit” of BGE’s EVsmart network, reviewing the online status of all 646 ports via ChargeHub and Shell Recharge apps. The audit revealed that only 89% of these ports were either in use or online and available for use. This falls well short of the target 97% uptime.
Cause for Concern
This shortfall in reliability raises concerns. With Maryland’s ambitious electric vehicle adoption goals, having nearly one in four fast chargers offline could undermine public confidence in the charging infrastructure—a critical piece in the transition to EVs.
Despite the less than ideal percentage of online charging ports, it’s worth noting that none of BGE’s charging locations were entirely offline. Every site had at least one functioning port, suggesting that while the network isn’t perfect, it’s not entirely offline at any particular sites either.
Since the Maryland Public Service Commission approved a limited EV pilot program in January 2019, BGE has built 123 public EV charging sites. The expectation, much like with their utility services, was that BGE’s electric vehicle charging stations would uphold high standards of reliability. BGE has touted a 98 percent uptime for its network, claiming their chargers are “available and operational 98 percent of the time.”
Charger Audit Findings
However, my virtual “charger audit” conducted on September 19, 2024, tells a different story. This audit reviewed the online status of every charging station port in BGE’s EVsmart network, and at the time of the query, less than 90 percent were reporting to be online and available—well short of achieving the average annual uptime required to meet reliability goals.
Of the 646 total charging ports across BGE’s 123 locations, 65 were faulted, offline, unavailable, or missing from the Shell Recharge app. Only 69 of the 90 DC fast chargers were online, representing just 77% of the DCFC in BGE’s network. While 556 of the Level 2 ports were online, that accounts for only 92% of the total L2 ports. This level of unreliability presents a significant hurdle to Maryland’s electric vehicle adoption goals, as it undermines public confidence in the charging infrastructure critical for widespread EV adoption.
Regulatory Requirements and Data Transparency
Under Maryland’s Public Utilities Article §7–904, effective October 1, 2023, utility-owned EV charging stations must meet strict uptime standards. These standards, aligned with the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) guidelines, mandate a 97% uptime requirement for each charging station. Utility companies are also required to submit quarterly reports tracking uptime over the previous 12 months. Yet, despite the law’s requirements, the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) has not finalized the template for reporting this data, leaving a critical transparency gap.
Filling the Data Gap
In the absence of timely and comprehensive data from utilities, I conducted this independent “charger audit” to assess the reliability of BGE’s EVsmart public charging network. Using the ChargeHub app, each charging port was queried, with any ports listed as “offline” cross-checked against the network’s native app, Shell Recharge, for verification.
BWI Airport Rideshare Lot
One of the BGE sites with offline charging ports is located at the BWI Airport Rideshare Lot. Two of the six DC fast chargers at this location have been out of operation since before July 4th. This site is heavily used by Uber and Lyft drivers who rely on these chargers. When all four functioning chargers are in use, a line often forms as drivers wait their turn. This is just one example of the negative consequences of unreliable charging infrastructure.
Which is worse, a broken charger or arriving and finding it “ICEd“—blocked by a gas vehicle? I recently encountered a bit of both at a curbside charging spot on Washington Boulevard near Carroll Park in Baltimore City.
When I arrived there on a weekday afternoon, I discovered that out of the four available spots, two were blocked by ICE vehicles. To make matters worse, the two remaining spots had non-operational chargers. Of course, the spots by the functioning EVSE were the ones that were ICEd. Murphy’s law, I suppose.
It felt like a double whammy—broken stations compounded by inconsiderate parking. Such experiences can be a frustrating reality for EV drivers.
The EV Driver’s Dilemma: Out of Order or ICEd
This experience highlights a significant challenge for EV drivers: the accessibility and reliability of charging stations. When charging stations are out of order or blocked by ICE vehicles, the result is the same—you cannot charge your vehicle. While there might be debates over which scenario is worse, the frustration and inconvenience for EV drivers are undeniable. It’s a stark reminder of the gaps in the current infrastructure and the everyday obstacles faced by those who have made the switch to electric.
Public Spending and the Promise of Range Anxiety Relief
The situation is particularly disheartening considering the millions in public spending being approved by legislators and public utility commissions to fund the buildout of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. One of the primary justifications for this massive investment is to alleviate “range anxiety,” the fear that a vehicle has insufficient range to reach its destination, which remains a significant barrier to EV adoption according to surveys.
The Need for Improved Infrastructure and Enforcement
To truly alleviate perceived range anxiety and make EVs a viable option for everyone, it’s not just about installing more charging stations. Ensuring these stations are functional and accessible is equally critical. This means regular maintenance to keep chargers operational and stringent enforcement to prevent ICE vehicles from occupying EV charging spots.
Shell Recharge EV Charging at Glenwood Library – Cooksville, MD
If you’re driving through Glenwood, Cooksville, or Inwood, Maryland, and need to top up your electric vehicle, the Shell Recharge EV charging station at Glenwood Library could be a good option. This BGE EVsmart station offers two 50 kW Tritium DC fast chargers and three dual-port Level 2 EVSEs, providing flexibility for either a quick charge or a longer stay. The pricing is straightforward: fast charging costs $0.32/kWh plus a 6% Maryland state sales tax, while Level 2 charging is priced at $0.17/kWh plus tax.
It’s worth noting that the 50 kW speed of the DC fast chargers is relatively slow compared to other providers that offer 150 kW or greater. Additionally, the reliability of the two DC fast chargers at this site has been problematic, with BGE most recently reporting uptimes of 92.4% and 12.7%, both of which fall short of the 97% uptime benchmark.
Location and Amenities
Located in the parking lot of the Glenwood Branch of the Howard County Library on Route 97, this station is about two miles south of I-70. This charging site is also adjacent to the Gary J. Arthur Community Center and the Howard County Western Regional Park. Facility hours are limited, however there are a few nearby amenities:
Restrooms: Available at both the library and the park.
Here in Columbia, Maryland, I’ve been closely monitoring the usage patterns of nearby electric vehicle fast chargers since 2020. This includes a mix of CCS/CHAdeMO stations from EVgo, Electrify America, Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), and Tesla Superchargers. My approach is simple: I track the electricity consumption at each location by recording monthly meter readings and analyzing the data over time. The goal? To gain valuable insights into how fast charging infrastructure is being utilized in this region and identify trends in usage growth.
The chart above visualizes how much people utilized the fast chargers at four different locations throughout 2023. To understand this, I calculated the average daily usage per charger at each site. Here’s how I did it: I took the total electricity used each quarter, divided it by the number of days in the quarter, and then divided that daily usage by the number of fast charger dispensers at the site.
While all four locations saw an increase in usage compared to earlier quarters, there are some significant differences. The utilization rates and growth rates vary greatly between stations. Notably, in the last quarter of 2023, each Tesla Supercharger port dispensed, on average, more than three times the amount of electricity daily compared to the EVgo chargers. Interestingly, the BGE chargers, despite being less than a mile away from the Electrify America station, have a significantly lower utilization rate.
For the past several years, I have been tracking the electricity usage at the meter of several fast charger sites in the vicinity of Columbia and Jessup, Maryland. My goal was to understand how quickly the utilization of fast charging is growing, and whether some EV charging locations are experiencing more growth than others.
The data that I have collected shows some interesting trends in DC fast charger utilization over time. To give you a sense of what I’ve found, I’ve created a chart that compares the daily electricity usage at five fast charger sites in the area. These chargers are located midway between Washington, DC and Baltimore and have been selected because they represent a mix of CCS/CHAdeMO fast charging sites and a Tesla Supercharger.
Each vertical bar in the chart represents a quarter year of the average daily kWh of electricity used per individual charging dispenser at each site. By analyzing this data, I can gauge the relative utilization between fast chargers located in the same general area. It is my hope that by sharing these findings with you, we can gain a better understanding of the growth of electric vehicle fast chargers and how they are being used in Maryland.
Charger Location Map
In October 2021, I released a Fast Charger Utilization Study about these chargers, followed by an update in January, 2022. With 18 months of data, we now have a more comprehensive understanding of how EV drivers are utilizing these fast chargers over time.
It’s been over three years since the Maryland Public Service Commission approved an EV charging pilot that allows the utilities to use ratepayer funds to own and operate public charging stations. When they petitioned for approval of the pilot, my utility, BGE, had assured regulators that their public EV charging stations would be highly reliable and that they would respond quickly to resolve outages and issues. How are they doing in that regard? I wanted quantitative data to find out.
95% to 99% uptime is the range described in the utilities’ semi-annual EV charging reports. That seems quite optimistic compared to what other EV drivers and I have experienced. The only way to actually find out the ground truth is to go out and visit the chargers. I chose to evaluate all the utility-owned fast chargers in the BGE service territory.
Professor David Rempel of the University of California, Berkeley recently published a study on the reliability of the public (non-Tesla) electric vehicle fast chargers in the San Francisco Bay Area. The results showed that more than a quarter of the chargers in the Bay Area were not functioning or had a design failure. The non-functioning stations suffered from non-responsive displays, payment system failures, initiation failures, network failures, or damaged connectors.
The Berkeley study utilized a group of volunteer EV drivers who visited the chargers and tested each one by plugging into their EV and attempting to charge for two minutes. The methods used in the Berkeley study inspired the procedure that I used to test the fast chargers in Maryland.
Procedure
Between August 28 and September 6, 2022, I tested all 69 public fast chargers that are owned and operated by BGE. I created a map of the charger locations and divided the locations into manageable groups that I could visit and evaluate over a number of days.
I drove to each site and worked through a checklist of tasks to test each fast charger. First I took a series of photos of the chargers. Then I recorded the Station ID, model and serial number of each unit. I visually inspected the equipment including the display, cables and connectors for damage. I documented the online status of the charger in the Shell Recharge mobile app. Then I attempted to initiate a charge via the app. If the unit began charging, I let it run for two minutes. Meanwhile I took note of the charging speed and made sure that the charger was operating as expected. After two minutes, I’d stop the charge and then attempt to initiate a charge using the RFID card reader.
If a charging session failed, I reported it to Shell Recharge customer service. This should have alerted BGE of the specific chargers that were having issues. In many instances, when I reported the issue, Shell Recharge responded that a service ticket had previously been created.
Results
A charger was classified as fully functional if it authorized via the Shell Recharge app (or started free), initiated a charge, and maintained the expected charging speed for two minutes.
71% (49) of the BGE fast chargers were fully functional as defined above.
14.5% (10) of the chargers were completely inoperable.
2.9% (2) consistently displayed error codes and would not charge.
4.4% (3) were offline and did not respond via the app. However, these did initiate via a tap of a Shell Recharge RFID card. Most drivers however do not carry a Shell Recharge card.
7.2% (5) initiated a charge but delivered very low power, around 15 kW. That is a fraction of the 50 kW rated power for those stations.
BGE EVsmart Charging Station at Michael E. Busch Annapolis Library
Two years after being commissioned, the BGE fast charger at the Michael E. Busch Library in Annapolis has been replaced.
The original Efacec QC45 DC fast charger was swapped with a Model L3S-50-480-01-001 from BTC Power and is now energized and ready for EV drivers.
The charging stations at the library include four Level 2 connectors and are part of the BGE “EVsmart” network. Drivers use Shell Recharge to start a charging session and pay for usage. The present price is $0.32/kWh for fast charging and $0.18/kWh for Level 2, including MD sales and use tax.
History of Issues
This location opened on March 13, 2020. The site cost $124,029.56 to install according to documents filed with the Maryland Public Service Commission. This does not include the cost of the replacement equipment.
Revenue at this particular site amounted to $1,419.77 through December 31, 2021. The electric bill for that period was $7,313.71 resulting in a loss of $5,893.94 for the first 21 months of operation.
The fast charger at the Annapolis Library has had a history of EV drivers reporting issues. The CHAdeMO connector was damaged in December and BGE said that there was a delay in getting parts.
BGE is not the only charging operator to replace equipment. Electrify America swapped equipment at many of their charging sites. The Columbia, Maryland site was closed for six weeks to replace the hardware in late 2020.
Hopefully the replacement fast charger at the Annapolis Library will renew the confidence of EV drivers and utilization will increase.
