BP Pulse: data request declined.

[Mad Professor]

Good morning All.

Has anyone been successful in any data requests and or performance reports from BP Pulse?

The closest Rapid charger to me is a BP Pulse (upto 50kW) this unit seems to top out at about 35kW, located at the WightLink ferry terminal.
This is also the only BP Pulse rapid charger on the Island, yes there are other rapid chargers on the island such as Shell Recharge, Mer, InstaVolt & Genie Point.
All again are upto 50kW, nothing faster that I am aware of down here.

As the BP Pulse charger is local to me and I know all to well how temperamental it can be, I thought I would contact BP Pulse and ask for detailed information on this charger.

My email to BP Pulse ([email protected])

Dear BP Pulse Team,

I hope this email finds you well. I am a user of the BP Pulse public EV charging network. I have been utilizing Chargepoint ID 24277 for my electric vehicle charging needs.

I am writing to kindly request performance reports for the specified Chargepoint ID. Specifically, I am interested in receiving reliability reports that detail the performance and uptime of the charging station. Understanding the reliability metrics will be valuable for my planning and usage of the charging infrastructure.

If possible, please provide data on uptime, maintenance history, and any relevant performance indicators for Chargepoint ID 24277. Additionally, if there are any upcoming maintenance schedules or improvements planned for this charging point, I would appreciate being informed.

I understand the importance of reliable charging infrastructure, and I believe that access to this information will contribute to a better overall experience for EV users. Your assistance in providing these performance reports is highly appreciated.

If there are any forms or specific procedures I need to follow to request this information formally, please let me know, and I will promptly fulfill any requirements.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your positive response.

Best regards,

BP Pulses Response.

Good morning,

Thank you for contacting Bp pulse customer care.

In regards to the unit 24277 at the location of Ryde, PO33 4EU we would be unable to share this information for data and security reasons this would only be shared for the owners of this unit.

Sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you.

Kind regards,

Well at least they bothered responding to my email and questions, but out right refused to answer any of them due to data and security reasons.
Maybe they are just too embarrassed to say how problematic this charger really is.

What's your thoughts?

Best Regards.

 

[GlynG]

Well, being honest and whilst reading your email to them - my first thoughts were "Cheeky see you next Tuesday"
BPs response was about right.

What you were asking for is none of your business, Downtime and service schedules, upcoming maintenance - that's all commercially sensitive information - and why would anyone go to the trouble of gathering that data just to satisfy a customers curiosity, imagine if everyone requested that info for every charger.

I'm not having a pop at you and genuinely not trying to bait you, You asked for our thoughts and those were indeed my thoughts.

 

[Mad Professor]

GlynG, Thank you for your reply.

I do see where you are coming from.
However if this was your local and primary way to charge your vehicle would you be willing to accept a sub standard service, such as slow charging, being problematic, etc?

From my point of view I am paying a monthly BP Pulse membership , as well as the price per kW, to use there only Rapid charger on the island.
Yes it's currently working, but only getting 35kW and not the 50kW it should be capable.

Yes I know that I could just use one of the other competitors on the island, at a higher price per kW and travel times.

Unfortunately not everyone has luxury of having off street parking and or home charging.
This shouldn't be such an issue in the future as work are planning on installing EVSE by Q2 of 2024.

 

[NewbieT]

FoIA doesn’t apply but wait 18-24 months and you could FoIA the government for some of the data (if it isn’t available via data.gov.uk). If you have some IT skills you could scrape the status for a few months and come up with your own stats. Have you asked Zap-Map or PlugShare if they can give you any data?

Having the data is one thing, but I’m not sure how that helps you?

 

[GlynG]

GlynG, Thank you for your reply.

I do see where you are coming from.
However if this was your local and primary way to charge your vehicle would you be willing to accept a sub standard service, such as slow charging, being problematic, etc?

From my point of view I am paying a monthly BP Pulse membership , as well as the price per kW, to use there only Rapid charger on the island.
Yes it's currently working, but only getting 35kW and not the 50kW it should be capable.

Yes I know that I could just use one of the other competitors on the island, at a higher price per kW and travel times.

Unfortunately not everyone has luxury of having off street parking and or home charging.
This shouldn't be such an issue in the future as work are planning on installing EVSE by Q2 of 2024.

With you now, perhaps the question then to BP is why a 50Kwhr charger never achieves more than 35Kwhrs when charging - when will this be rectified? and are there any plans to install a faster charger in the not too distant future?
It just may prompt them to answer as your not seeking commercially sensitive info

I've never used anything other than Superchargers or Gridserve - I didn't know you have to be a BP member - so I guess its reasonable to ask a few questions

 

[pdk42]

I’d be tempted to simply provide your own reliability data and ask them why it’s so unreliable. You could also query the 35 vs 50kW issue, but I suspect they’ll come back saying it could be the car.

But let’s face it BP Pulse are about the worst performer out there for EV charging so I suspect all you’ll get is the sound of tumbleweed.

 

[WannabeOwner]

However if this was your local and primary way to charge your vehicle would you be willing to accept a sub standard service, such as slow charging, being problematic, etc?

This is a problem normally solved by Marketplace supply-demand ... but IoW seems to be devoid of higher speed chargers.

I did look on PlugShare and Zap-Map (to see if there was enough Crowd-Sourced comments, but they are so sparse as to be little help)

maybe speak to other folk charging there and from a club (conglomerate?!!) to collect data with a view to name-and-shame? or strengthen your complaint against "It must be YOUR car"

Unfortunately not everyone has luxury of having off street parking and or home charging.

Any neighbours / nearby got a charger? No idea if they would be amenable to doing a deal with you, but don't-ask don't-get maybe applies.

e.g. I'd be very happy for my neighbour to plug into mine during the summer - I have far more PV than I can consume ...

 

[init6]

Seems a strange way to go about this.
If you're only getting 35kW then report it as a fault. Every time. More reports usually means more action.

 

[Wybrook]

I certainly think you’d have a slightly better chance of getting a useful reply if you explained why you were asking and detailed the problems you’re having, rather than just asking for lots of data. But even then I’d be surprised if you got anything close to useful data.