Eastern Canada Superchargers

[Ktowntslafan]

"In parallel, we continue to evaluate options to quickly bring charging to Kingston."

"We greatly appreciate the continued support from our owners to call various parties and expedite, but this is not a delay by the utility or the City. Tesla is in contact with the correct parties and we are working daily to energize Kingston."

My work here is done...






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Embarrassing as a Kingstonian...to clarify. Again, working on it...as much as I can influence the situation.

Redact this statement...once again proud! Glad to see meetings had an impact.

 

[Doug_G]

As frustrating as it is for all of us, apparently this kind of mixup is pretty common.

Another likely cause of problems is the electrical inspector. They often make decisions on changes to the plan for no logical reason whatsoever.

Here's an example: when we had our office built, I had the engineers size the power at more than double what he said we needed (a LOT cheaper to do at the outset!). The plans were stamped by engineers and approved by the city and hydro. When the inspector came before the concrete was poured, he said the conduit needed to be larger and we needed two of them. Uh, we already have double our needs. But no, he insisted.

It gets weirder. He said we only needed the second conduit at the pole; we could run it half-way across the parking lot and cap it there. The contractor pointed out that the second conduit would be buried in concrete and inaccessible, so he allowed him to stick the end out of the concrete.

Never mind that this spare conduit is buried under the parking lot and not even connected to the building, and will never, ever be used. He delayed the project a week with this utter silliness. (A lot better than Hydro One who delayed the project six months by losing a file...)

 

[Ktowntslafan]

My contact is and has been making it a priority. More than one party involved, however.

I now defer fully to this individual...they are up to speed and on point.

Happy to facilitate your visits to Ktown over the next while...seriously, happy to host anyone.

 

[Cosmacelf]

I don't know, I still haven't heard something that makes sense as to why Kingston is delayed. Kingston was started a long time ago, there was plenty of lead time to get things done. I suspect part of the problem is the utilities doing things for their benefit, not the customers. This BS about not being able to even order equipment until a particular i got dotted is an example.

Tesla is very unique in that they run into utility BS constantly since they aren't just building one site, but hundreds, and in a very short time.

In addition, 1,000 kVA transformers are usually for big office buildings where there is a 1-2 year construction timeline, so the time it takes for the utility to wipe their ass doesn't matter.

Bottom line - utilities move at a glacial pace because, with almost every other large power project, it doesn't matter. With Tesla, it does, but they can't or don't want to adjust.

 

[sitter_k]

You're welcome, and stop calling me Lance (Sorry for the obscure and not-very-funny "Airplane" reference.)

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No, they have ordered this equipment, they are being told it will take several weeks, but they're still trying to find ways to get it faster. And it's not Utilities Kingston who ordered it, it's Tesla or their contractor. As for what it is, we could guess - my guess would be current transformers for the meter - but we don't know. And it appears that Utilities Kingston is "ready and waiting".

They should have used Amazon prime.

 

[Ktowntslafan]

I don't know, I still haven't heard something that makes sense as to why Kingston is delayed. Kingston was started a long time ago, there was plenty of lead time to get things done. I suspect part of the problem is the utilities doing things for their benefit, not the customers. This BS about not being able to even order equipment until a particular i got dotted is an example.

Tesla is very unique in that they run into utility BS constantly since they aren't just building one site, but hundreds, and in a very short time.

In addition, 1,000 kVA transformers are usually for big office buildings where there is a 1-2 year construction timeline, so the time it takes for the utility to wipe their ass doesn't matter.

Bottom line - utilities move at a glacial pace because, with almost every other large power project, it doesn't matter. With Tesla, it does, but they can't or don't want to adjust.

It would seem that Tesla has now weighed in on the delay...if you continue to be sceptical, feel free: [email protected]

I am comfortable that the right people are now working on the situation.

 

[BAMMM]

Here are some photos of the Kingston Supercharger that I took today. In case anyone is interested

 

[bsd]

View attachment 66087View attachment 66088Here are some photos of the Kingston Supercharger that I took today. In case anyone is interested

It's a good sign that the ICEs are keeping clear.

 

[Mayhemm]

Another likely cause of problems is the electrical inspector. They often make decisions on changes to the plan for no logical reason whatsoever.

Here's an example: when we had our office built, I had the engineers size the power at more than double what he said we needed (a LOT cheaper to do at the outset!). The plans were stamped by engineers and approved by the city and hydro. When the inspector came before the concrete was poured, he said the conduit needed to be larger and we needed two of them. Uh, we already have double our needs. But no, he insisted.

It gets weirder. He said we only needed the second conduit at the pole; we could run it half-way across the parking lot and cap it there. The contractor pointed out that the second conduit would be buried in concrete and inaccessible, so he allowed him to stick the end out of the concrete.

Never mind that this spare conduit is buried under the parking lot and not even connected to the building, and will never, ever be used. He delayed the project a week with this utter silliness. (A lot better than Hydro One who delayed the project six months by losing a file...)

Doug, that is ridiculous. Who knows how much extra time and expense for absolutely nothing. It kind of sounds like the entire industry is a joke, from an efficiency standpoint.

As frustrating as it is for all of us, apparently this kind of mixup is pretty common. Similar problems often happen with connecting solar power systems to the grid. There are 70-some local distribution companies (electrical utilities) in Ontario, and each one has its own rules on top of the electrical code. If you do a lot of projects with a particular LDC, you can get to know their rules and can build up a good working relationship. So the good news is that once Tesla has installed a supercharger in the territory of one of those LDCs, the next one should be easier. But the bad news is that other than Hydro One (most rural areas), most SC installations will be the first for the utility since their territories tend to be fairly small.

If you're curious, you can see the map of Ontario LDCs here.

Peter, you'll have to forgive me. I'm from Saskatchewan, where we have one, publicly-owned utility.

This dealing with multiple companies and their BS is a foreign concept (well, not so much the BS part).

 

[sitter_k]

View attachment 66087View attachment 66088Here are some photos of the Kingston Supercharger that I took today. In case anyone is interested

That's the way all chargers should be With access from the front or back. I don't know the overall size of the lot maybe it's a bit much to ask a landlord to reserve 12 spaces for 6 superchargers. Would have liked to see them move even one more slot over so there would be 9 potential spaces to charge from to cut down on the possibility of ice'ing.

 

[PoweredByRain]

That's the way all chargers should be With access from the front or back. I don't know the overall size of the lot maybe it's a bit much to ask a landlord to reserve 12 spaces for 6 superchargers. Would have liked to see them move even one more slot over so there would be 9 potential spaces to charge from to cut down on the possibility of ice'ing.

I don't follow your idea here. All of these Supercharger stalls have to be accessed by backing in to one of the 6 parking spots - 3 on one side, 3 on the other. The cable is not long enough to reach any other spot. e.g. the spot on the right end, just in front of the cabinets, cannot be used to plug into a Supercharger because the cable could not possibly reach the back left side of the car. Unless you parked at right angles to the parking spot, with the front end sticking out into the road!

Maybe I'm misunderstanding something. Have you used a Supercharger? You have to actually park very close to the stall to be able to plug in. See photo from Hope: this is about the limit as to how far away from the stall you can park and still plug in.

 

[Hugh Mannity]

It looks like the difference is at kingston you can back in from both sides. Hope only has ingress from one side, you can see by the painted lines the difference

 

[PoweredByRain]

It looks like the difference is at kingston you can back in from both sides. Hope only has ingress from one side, you can see by the painted lines the difference

Right. If you look closely at the Kingston picture you'll see the pedestals are rotated 180 degrees from each other. The one at the far right end is to service the parking spot in front, the one just to its left services the parking spot behind. I am almost certain that you won't be able to plug the wrong one in, the cable simply will not reach around the car to the other side.

To make it really, really clear: you cannot plug in if you drive in head first, or in an adjacent spot. The cable isn't even remotely long enough. And that's a good thing, because that's some HEAVY cable. It would be a nightmare if it was long enough to have to pick up the whole thing and handle wrapping it back up on a hook.

 

[FrozenCanuck]

Is anyone else planning to drive south this winter from the Toronto area? I'm starting to worry about no progress in Buffalo and nothing to fill the huge gap in Pennsylvania to connect into the rest of the network.

 

[Forty Creek]

Is anyone else planning to drive south this winter from the Toronto area? I'm starting to worry about no progress in Buffalo and nothing to fill the huge gap in Pennsylvania to connect into the rest of the network.

We hope to drive to Florida in February. It won't be a smooth trip at the rate things are going.

 

[mrElbe]

We hope to drive to Florida in February. It won't be a smooth trip at the rate things are going.

Same here. So far I am planning to use the Benz 500SL unless the SC chain completes.

 

[sitter_k]

Right. If you look closely at the Kingston picture you'll see the pedestals are rotated 180 degrees from each other. The one at the far right end is to service the parking spot in front, the one just to its left services the parking spot behind. I am almost certain that you won't be able to plug the wrong one in, the cable simply will not reach around the car to the other side.

To make it really, really clear: you cannot plug in if you drive in head first, or in an adjacent spot. The cable isn't even remotely long enough. And that's a good thing, because that's some HEAVY cable. It would be a nightmare if it was long enough to have to pick up the whole thing and handle wrapping it back up on a hook.

oh i was under the impression you could back in on both sides for each SC as babstude suggested.

It looks like the difference is at kingston you can back in from both sides. Hope only has ingress from one side, you can see by the painted lines the difference

 

[mnx]

We hope to drive to Florida in February. It won't be a smooth trip at the rate things are going.

Sounds like it would be an easier drive to head towards Detroit to connect to the SC network at this point. (Assuming Comber gets online soon). I really hope it's up before the NAIAS.

 

[mknox]

Woodstock

So here's a surprise:

The Woodstock Supercharger goes live tomorrow. That's right, December 17th. This 8 stall site was built without (apparently) anyone noticing and is at the Quality Inn just off the 401.

EDIT: Well, apparently some did notice earlier in this thread, but I sure missed the news.

 

[mrElbe]

Sounds like it would be an easier drive to head towards Detroit to connect to the SC network at this point. (Assuming Comber gets online soon). I really hope it's up before the NAIAS.

If either Woodstock or Comber were online one could make it to Maumee (Toledo) but then I75 has a big gap down south and one would have to head south east towards I95 to have clear sailing to Florida. Better would be if Buffalo and Erie were operational.

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So here's a surprise:

The Woodstock Supercharger goes live tomorrow. That's right, December 17th. This 8 stall site was built without (apparently) anyone noticing and is at the Quality Inn just off the 401.

That is good news. Now all we need is a long extension cord to Kingston.