Charging in Upstate New York (or maybe Vermont)

[Cottonwood]

29.76c / kWh

That's quite the premium.

Not really a premium at all. Let's say that they paid $3,000 for equipment and install, and that the gross profit per hour is $3/hr. That means its 1,000 hours of charging just to pay for the install without any cost of money. If they get 5 hours of charging a week, then that is 4 years until they break even. On top of that, they probably dedicated a parking place to charging. Parking spots are not cheap either.

To be able to charge at twice the rate of a 14-50 in a nice location, $5/hr is cheap and as I pointed out, its still half the price that an ICE would have cost you for gasoline.

 

[EVenthusiast]

They didn't pay for the equipment, and they ran the circuit themselves (an electrician verified the install), so cost should be minimal. That said, I didn't mean to start a conversation about cost in this thread, I just wanted to mention this policy change, as it wasn't really mentioned anywhere. Just keep it in mind when looking for a charge.

 

[hcsharp]

29.76c / kWh

That's quite the premium.

You're kidding, right? At $5/hr they are still doing you a big favor. I agree with the way JRP3 put it. And if they have to pay demand charges, their effective rate could be close to 29.76c / kWh. All of this is mere pocket change for them and what they really want is your business.

 

[brianman]

their effective rate could be close to 29.76c / kWh

Perhaps this is a regional difference. In WA, that's 2-3 times the home rate.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Perhaps this is a regional difference. In WA, that's 2-3 times the home rate.

hcsharp is talking about "demand charges", which is what utilities charge customers that have an extremely high draw. Virtually all utilities charge this regardless of region.

This document explains what they are and also shows that Seattle City Light charges demand charge for those with more than 50kW draw. Basically you are charged per kW based on the max kW you draw that month. This is on top of the charge for energy (kWh).
http://www.theevproject.com/downloa...-Demand Charge Reduction V1.0 Revised (2).pdf

 

[Monto]

They didn't pay for the equipment, and they ran the circuit themselves (an electrician verified the install), so cost should be minimal. That said, I didn't mean to start a conversation about cost in this thread, I just wanted to mention this policy change, as it wasn't really mentioned anywhere. Just keep it in mind when looking for a charge.

$2, $5, subsidized equipment, none of that should matter. It's not about the cost, but about supporting those that support the EV industry. It needs to be a symbiotic relationship for it to thrive. We shouldn't expect free charging anywhere if we aren't supporting those that provide it.

 

[brianman]

We shouldn't expect free charging anywhere if we aren't supporting those that provide it.

I don't think anyone even remotely proposed anything contrary to this.

- - - Updated - - -

hcsharp is talking about "demand charges", which is what utilities charge customers that have an extremely high draw. Virtually all utilities charge this regardless of region.

Got it. Thanks.

 

[neroden]

No problem. That said, I did find out that Best Western is still trying to figure out their charging policy. They now want to charge $5/hour for visitors, and keep it free to guests only. I'm actively talking to them about this, so hopefully I can change their mind (they did admit that this is all new to them, and they are still trying to figure things out).

I have strongly recommended, repeatedly, that charging stations should charge for parking, not for electricity. Doing this seems to somehow "feel" right. Obviously the hotel provides free parking for their customers only. It's perfectly reasonable for them to charge visitors who are charging, but they should price it at a "parking"-comparable rate, not an electricity-based rate

 

[Cottonwood]

I have strongly recommended, repeatedly, that charging stations should charge for parking, not for electricity. Doing this seems to somehow "feel" right. Obviously the hotel provides free parking for their customers only. It's perfectly reasonable for them to charge visitors who are charging, but they should price it at a "parking"-comparable rate, not an electricity-based rate

Or perhaps charge for electricity plus parking, because you are using both...

 

[neroden]

Or perhaps charge for electricity plus parking, because you are using both...

Frankly, in most places, the electric usage will be too small to be worth metering, while the cost of occupying the parking spot... will be a lot higher. Parking charges also deter people from sitting in one place any longer than they have to.

 

[huntjo]

I suppose if there is a charge for parking in front of a charging station, then it will be less likely to get ICE'd. Would it be like a parking meter kind of set up with a flashing light for the meter maid once your alotted time is up? And then I suppose certain businesses could then "validate" you by giving your code or something if they wanted their paying customers to have free charging.