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Blink New High Charging Rates $$$

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422kWh of charge in month? That can't be correct can it? That would mean my charging alone that month (I drove about 2x more than I usually do that month), at 35hrs x (200v x 24amps) = 168kWh was nearly 40% of their business that month. Think I paid 37 dollars for that. EDIT: $37/168kWh = ~$0.22/kWh

You are right my bad, it is 422,206K ie 422MWh for the month of June 2014. Still, not very much. Works out to 90KWh per charger per month (or 75KW is the figure is for all carcharging stations, not just blink). http://insideevs.com/carcharging-lost-16-8-per-every-kwh-delivered-second-quar

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This is simple supply and demand.

Blink is a for-profit business. Blink is the supplier and has set its price. You are the consumer creating demand based on that price. If you don't like the price or service, then don't use Blink. If you need to use a Blink EVSE and are willing to pay their price, then use them.

Is there something else that I am missing?

And to complete the thought, even fewer people will use Blinks and the corpse will rot even faster.
 
Had they paired this announcement with a massive expansion of their charging infrastructure and partnering with some major food and/or hotel chain,and upgrade of all of their chargers to dual 100amp AC and Chademo for expanded convenience and speed then I might have been able to overlook the pricing. And yes, while they have costs and deserve to have those offset while making a profit, they need to simultaneously offer and upgraded service to their potential customers who will look elsewhere otherwise.
 
Maybe now they'll be able to fix or replace their broken ones, or those they limited to 24A last year because of a defect.
As mentioned above, this only affects Tesla owners when we're out of town and use it for slow destination charging. I've used a Blink charging station twice in 14 months, but was happy to have it both times. I'd rather pay a dollar per hour more and have it work than find it broken. If someone is depending on Blink or similar network for routine daily charging, they probably shouldn't be driving a EV yet.
 
I'm not sure I see what all the fuss is about here. I've seen plenty of Chargepoint stations that try and charge $0.49/kWh. At 6kWh per 20 miles, assuming we drive the equivalent of 20 mpg cars, that's $3/gallon. Approx 15-30% cheaper than regular gasoline depending on your location.

Does anyone know the per kWh energy charge they incur? I'm residential and pay $0.15 all in.If they're paying $0.30/kWh then it's not really that outrageous.
 
I'll make sure to educate everyone not to use a Blink charger because they charge outrageous prices. This price change is going to sink them for good. Imagine if one gas station doubled their prices just for the hell of it. Well, everyone would avoid that gas station and go to the next one. Same thing here.
 
What is sad is that, in my limited experience, the Blink chargers are non-functional or slow every time I try one. I was just up in St. Helena, CA this Labor Day weekend. The Blink charger there was, well, on the blink. I had the proprietor recycle the breaker--no joy.

This is sort of like the restaurant where not only is the food bad, but the portions are too small.

Blink....on the brink.
 
  1. Just got a e-mail from Blink about their new 'competitive' (IMHO stealing) rates of 39 to 79 cents per kWh for Level 2 charging, 49 to 69 cents per kWh for DC charging or where per kWh charging is not allowed or impractical - 4-6 cents per minute for Level 2 or $6.99-$9.99 session for DC charging. This makes charging very expensive. Compare to national electric rate of 10-12 cents per kWh and Orlando Utilities sponsored ChargePoints of 13 cents per kWh.
  2. These rates make our EV cost the same in 'fuel' charges as a car getting 15-20 miles a gallon. A total rip off that will affect the rate of adoption of EV vehicles.

I live in the SF bay and pay up to $0.39 per kWh during peak summer hours and about $0.10 a kWh during off-peak hours (PG&E EV-A time-of-use rate for electric vehicles). Assuming the Blink chargers don't get much usage during off-peak hours (11 pm - 7 am on weekdays for my plan) Blink was probably paying more for the electricity than they were billing people for using the chargers.

I only attempt to use a Blink charger when there are no other options and I'd happily pay their new rates if I could count on the charger actually being operational when I needed it. And I chose my words carefully when I wrote "attempt to use a Blink charger": Blink let me down BIG TIME today
Are We There Yet? The Pleasure Pain of EV Ownership.: Blink(less) in Seattle
 
While no customer likes a price increase, especially a 140% increase (I'm in AZ, so we move from $1/hour to $0.04/minute -- equals $2.40 per hour, although billing in 30 second intervals is better than the 1-hour intervals previously), the only surprise I have with this move is how long it took to be announced.

When Car Charging bought Blink's assets at the bankruptcy auction last year, I took a look at their pricing page (Electric vehicle ratesCarCharging) -- and knew that they would increase Blink's fees. For reference, the new Blink fees are similar to what Car Charging had previously (see the table below for a comparison using Blink's Member pricing -- don't quite understand why they even offer Guest access, considering that membership is free...).

Here's the link to their pricing page, which includes the old and new Blink rates: Blink - Membership FAQs

As for me, this has effectively no impact. I've spent about $12 total on Blink charges -- most of that was summer of 2013 when we first had the car and we'd charge while shopping at a couple places, only so I could pre-cool the car before we got back. But I haven't used one in about 9 months...

Time/kWhOld BlinkNew BlinkCar Charging (non-Blink)
Time$1.00/hr in 1 hour increments$2.40/hr in 30 second increments$2.00-3.00/hr (1 hr min)
kWhn/a$0.39-$0.69/kWh (varies by state)$0.49/kWh
 
If you use the .79 figure and you charge for 2 hours and use 40kW it would be $30.00.
You math is off. Blink stations typically deliver just under 5kW (208V 24A). Your $30 for 40kWh is about right, it's actually $31.60, but it would take more than 8 hours to get that much energy through the Blink-straw. The take-away point is that the fee for that 40kWh of charging time went from $8 or $9 ($1/hr for members) to between $15.60 ($0.39/kWh) and $31.60 ($0.79/kWh).
 
I don't have home charging so this change makes it a little harder to find charging that doesn't feel like a ripoff. Paying about the same per mile as gas just makes me feel like I'm getting fleeced. I used to pay $1/hr at the Blink Stations a mile from my apartment, and noticed last week the price had changed to $0.49/kWh. Quite a massive increase all of a sudden. Will have to rely more on work charging now.
$1/hr at up to 240V/30A is $0.14 / kWh. That is well below the cost of retail electricity in most of California (their biggest market).

I know - they should sell their service at a loss and make up for it in volume! :tongue:

IMO charging either by the kWh and/or by the minute makes the most sense for most public charging. And the rates should be a rate that will allow the vendor to make a bit of money.

The rates are a bit steep compared to charging at home. But keep in mind that most people are charging at home during off-peak hours for a very low rate. On-peak rates in California are $0.30-$0.50 / kWh these days and are typically when one does most of their public charging.

For people who require public charging, companies like Blink should offer volume discounts - the more you use in any month, the bigger the discount. This way you encourage people to use your stations if they'll be charging frequently. The rest are only going to use the stations when they need to, anyway.

For those infrequent users, make sure you charge in small increments. Their new L2 rate plans are much better in this regard. But they really need to lose the per-session QC fee and instead charge by the minute. Instead of $7-10 / session, charge $0.10-$0.20 / minute.
 
As for me, this has effectively no impact. I've spent about $12 total on Blink charges -- most of that was summer of 2013 when we first had the car and we'd charge while shopping at a couple places, only so I could pre-cool the car before we got back. But I haven't used one in about 9 months...
(non-Blink)
Time$1.00/hr in 1 hour increments$2.40/hr in 30 second increments$2.00-3.00/hr (1 hr min)
kWhn/a$0.39-$0.69/kWh (varies by state)$0.49/kWh







You don't need to be plugged in to pre-cool the car. I just turn the AC on with the iPhone app a few minutes before I leave the mall, and the car is cool when I get to it. It works in Texas, so should work in Arizona too. It uses a trivial amount of energy.
 
This is my take on Blink. This charger is 1 month old.
 

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You math is off. Blink stations typically deliver just under 5kW (208V 24A). Your $30 for 40kWh is about right, it's actually $31.60, but it would take more than 8 hours to get that much energy through the Blink-straw. The take-away point is that the fee for that 40kWh of charging time went from $8 or $9 ($1/hr for members) to between $15.60 ($0.39/kWh) and $31.60 ($0.79/kWh).

Or to ~$19-22 for the new time based rates (for members)...

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You don't need to be plugged in to pre-cool the car. I just turn the AC on with the iPhone app a few minutes before I leave the mall, and the car is cool when I get to it. It works in Texas, so should work in Arizona too. It uses a trivial amount of energy.

I wouldn't quite call it trivial... In AZ sun, pre cooling can use 5 rated miles (especially with temps over 110)...
 
Okay, so as a data point we regularly take on a mostly full charge in Chula Vista, CA on the weekends from a Blink charger, and the expense just went from $14 to $32. I think the machine quoted $0.47 per Kwh, and the rate is per 24A

I'm not surprised they need to charge more, but the market mechanism works both ways so I'm gonna find an alternative in the RV park next to where I stay. Maybe the Blink business model just doesn't work. I'm not one to "support" them just because they are green - sorry, but I'm just not.
 
At SDG&E utility rates, Blink was losing money by charging you $14 for 68 kWh. If the RV park charges you ~$15, they will likely be losing money, too.


But those are a long ways from Chula Vista...


So I'm getting about $10 for cost, at a rate of $0.18 per kwh which is what the marina where we stay charges me. Now, I charge in town and ride my Brompton to the marina so the chargers at the service center would be impractical Plus the last time I was out that way I bought a Tesla blanket so I know I'd end up spending more than the Blink costs on swag ;-)