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Electrify America Complementary Session Check-in

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Date: 10/2
Time: 2pm
Location: North Bend, WA
Site: North Bend Premium Outlets
Status: All Chargers Complementary
Stalls Broken: Didn't see any, and the app didn't report any
Usage: 50% (two Rivian R1T's charging).

Interesting note: It claimed by payment was rejected, but there was no payment. I clicked retry and it worked.
 
I charged at the Target in Beaverton, OR. I used unit #2, and it worked great, still free... I couldn't get unit #3 to activate on either handle... When I was walking back to my car, I saw a lady with a Mach-E fiddling with unit #3, and saw she tapped her credit card or phone, and it started charging... So not sure if it was free for them, or if it failed handshake at first.
 
Then you have the issue where most customers don't understand the difference between a 150KW stall and a 350KW stall. So they'll take up a 350KW stall even if there car is only capable of 150KW or less.
I think that problem will go away as they upgrade their old chargers. It seems like they are replacing them all with 350kW chargers, but they are no longer dedicated, they share power between stalls. (Like Tesla.) I don't know what the minimum power available per stall is, but I'm sure it is at least 150kW.

For example in the recently upgraded Colorado site, there was a 150/CHAdeMO, 2) 150s, and a 350 stall. They left the original 150/CHAdeMO stall in place, and installed 3) "balanced" 350 stalls in place of the other old ABB chargers. (And from the video I saw that site was free a couple days ago even after the upgrade to the new hardware, so it much be the result of some major backend problem.)
 
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It's great to see Tesla's being able to charge at EA chargers because I feel like it will put additional pressure on EA to fix the situation. But, it would be pretty bad if a Tesla charged at a location with one working stall when there were 12+ Tesla supercharger stalls right near by.

That’s a good point that I haven’t previously thought of.

Even if EA is the better option than a Supercharger for a Tesla owner, by a price and/or proximity perspective, I feel there will always be (not sure of the exact words) friction between “us” and “them”. I already know the Chevy Bolt forum thread related to free EA charging has shared info from this particular thread.

My household is fully EV‘s with both a Tesla and non-Tesla. I hope higher EA utilization will lead to incentivize their investment, as a whole. Nobody would complain for better service and increase of locations.
 
I think that problem will go away as they upgrade their old chargers. It seems like they are replacing them all with 350kW chargers, but they are no longer dedicated, they share power between stalls. (Like Tesla.) I don't know what the minimum power available per stall is, but I'm sure it is at least 150kW.
Yes, in one of Kyle's videos, they mentioned the "Balanced 350kw" chargers, will provide a minimum of 150kW. So if you have a bolt taking up 50kW on one of them, the other paired one will by able to deliver up to 300kW, etc. (Simplifying the numbers, but you get the idea...)
 
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I have a Rivian so I have to use an EA network, but if I didn't I'm not sure I'd charge at an EA network even if it was free.

There are numerous problems with EA chargers

For starters they usually average at least 1 stall being broken. In fact in Bend Oregon only 1 out of 4 were working.

Then you have the issue where most customers don't understand the difference between a 150KW stall and a 350KW stall. So they'll take up a 350KW stall even if there car is only capable of 150KW or less. Or you'll have people showing up with more than 50% SOC where they won't realize it won't get close to 150KW let alone anything higher.

It's great to see Tesla's being able to charge at EA chargers because I feel like it will put additional pressure on EA to fix the situation. But, it would be pretty bad if a Tesla charged at a location with one working stall when there were 12+ Tesla supercharger stalls right near by.

It is fun seeing a Tesla at a site like Tigard Oregon where there are 8 chargers with a typical site usage of about 25% (based on what I feel is average when I pull in to charge).
I’m aware and I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about the charging infra for reasons - and that’s why my plan is to try the EA first and then backup to Tesla if need be.

Primarily I want to charge at EA in the Bay Area where last time I was there a couple months ago it was waiting 30-40 minutes for a free SC.
 
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Ok I reported earlier I was charged at a station in Seattle, but nope. Charger displayed a price but there was no charge to my account. Since then I have used EA in Tacoma WA, Missoula and Butte MT all free. Other EV drivers at these locations also said they have been getting free charging for a while now. Id say get it while you can, unfortunately now that Im back home there are none near me.
 
Ok I reported earlier I was charged at a station in Seattle, but nope. Charger displayed a price but there was no charge to my account. Since then I have used EA in Tacoma WA, Missoula and Butte MT all free. Other EV drivers at these locations also said they have been getting free charging for a while now. Id say get it while you can, unfortunately now that Im back home there are none near me.
What time did you go? I went to the one in Vancouver, WA around 1am last night, and all stations were free... Drove thru again about 20 minutes ago on way to Seattle, and they are no longer free... So at least in SW Washington, it looks like the free juice is over.. None of the stations displayed "Complimentary Session", and when I plugged in, it asked for payment, on all stations.

And just to clarify, when I went to the one in Beaverton, when it was free, it was earlier in the day on 10/02... I wouldn't be surprised if that one is no longer free as well.
 
Ok I reported earlier I was charged at a station in Seattle, but nope. Charger displayed a price but there was no charge to my account. Since then I have used EA in Tacoma WA, Missoula and Butte MT all free. Other EV drivers at these locations also said they have been getting free charging for a while now. Id say get it while you can, unfortunately now that Im back home there are none near me.

Are you initiating the charge session before plugging in? And is the app showing the history of how much energy you used, even when free?

With the complimentary sessions, I’ve been just plugging in and charging, without any need for the app. But I guess it’d be nice to have a history of how much free energy I’m using. I have an EA account but never used it for any paid charging yet.
 
Are you initiating the charge session before plugging in? And is the app showing the history of how much energy you used, even when free?

With the complimentary sessions, I’ve been just plugging in and charging, without any need for the app. But I guess it’d be nice to have a history of how much free energy I’m using. I have an EA account but never used it for any paid charging yet.
I'd be curious if the ones in Beaverton/Portland are still free... I went on Sunday and they were free, as well as the one in Vancouver... But as of 30 minutes ago, the ones in Vancouver are no longer free... I'll report back on the ones in Seattle, as I'm headed there now...
 
I'd be curious if the ones in Beaverton/Portland are still free... I went on Sunday and they were free, as well as the one in Vancouver... But as of 30 minutes ago, the ones in Vancouver are no longer free... I'll report back on the ones in Seattle, as I'm headed there now...

Tigard, OR location was free as of this morning.

I just got my Tesla CCS adapter today and was planning to go back tomorrow morning (been getting free energy with my other EV). Kept my SOC low this past week in anticipation of receiving it so hopefully still free… :)
 
Date: October 3rd
Location: North Platte, NE
Location: Lexington, NE
Location: Grand Island, NE
Location: Lincoln, NE
Status: All Chargers Complementary

Some broken chargers along the way. Check plugshare for updated information.
 
Then you have the issue where most customers don't understand the difference between a 150KW stall and a 350KW stall. So they'll take up a 350KW stall even if there car is only capable of 150KW or less. Or you'll have people showing up with more than 50% SOC where they won't realize it won't get close to 150KW let alone anything higher.
It's even worse when a clueless CCS driver uses the lone unit for CCS and CHAdeMO and leaves their car and the area. I've seen it numerous times and it really rankles CHAdeMO car drivers as I've seen on Plugshare check-ins.
I think that problem will go away as they upgrade their old chargers. It seems like they are replacing them all with 350kW chargers, but they are no longer dedicated, they share power between stalls. (Like Tesla.) I don't know what the minimum power available per stall is, but I'm sure it is at least 150kW.
That's news to me that was a thing. I'd heard a year or two ago that the sites w/any 350 kW chargers were placed near highway only as that seems to be the pattern in my area.

However, Safeway | PlugShare in Pacific Grove breaks that pattern. It's not near a highway.

And, just because it's new doesn't mean it's 350 kW either. Bank of America | PlugShare in south SJ (Almaden Valley) is pretty new and I'm sure newer than above Pacific Grove location but it's only 150 kW max. I'm also pretty sure that Gilroy Premium Outlets (3) | PlugShare is older despite having 350 kW chargers. The Gilroy site is most definitely near a highway.

For the others about app and all, if it says complimentary session on the screen w/2 plugs, just plug in. Do not use their app, NFC, credit card or anything. I wouldn't want take a chance of needing to pay. It'll start by itself. Ignore the $ amount counting up as you'll see a discount for the whole amount at the end.
 
What time did you go? I went to the one in Vancouver, WA around 1am last night, and all stations were free... Drove thru again about 20 minutes ago on way to Seattle, and they are no longer free... So at least in SW Washington, it looks like the free juice is over.. None of the stations displayed "Complimentary Session", and when I plugged in, it asked for payment, on all stations.

And just to clarify, when I went to the one in Beaverton, when it was free, it was earlier in the day on 10/02... I wouldn't be surprised if that one is no longer free as well.
My last session would have been 10/2 mid-afternoon in Butte. Check your EA account to see if you were actually charged today.
 
It's even worse when a clueless CCS driver uses the lone unit for CCS and CHAdeMO and leaves their car and the area. I've seen it numerous times and it really rankles CHAdeMO car drivers as I've seen on Plugshare check-ins.
Sometimes it is the last stall available, and after you go to do something the other vehicles leave.

That's news to me that was a thing. I'd heard a year or two ago that the sites w/any 350 kW chargers were placed near highway only as that seems to be the pattern in my area.

However, Safeway | PlugShare in Pacific Grove breaks that pattern. It's not near a highway.

And, just because it's new doesn't mean it's 350 kW either. Bank of America | PlugShare in south SJ (Almaden Valley) is pretty new and I'm sure newer than above Pacific Grove location but it's only 150 kW max. I'm also pretty sure that Gilroy Premium Outlets (3) | PlugShare is older despite having 350 kW chargers. The Gilroy site is most definitely near a highway.
I think the Colorado site is either the first or second site that had the new hardware installed. They just started installing the new version. I've heard that they are starting with sites that have been problematic.
 
In the Chicago area and from Chicago up to Minnesota (Rockford, Madison, Tomah, Eau Claire) it's been "Complimentary Session" on all EA chargers for weeks. Not sure what is going on with EA, this can't just be one giant snafu ?

We've been road tripping with the wife's e-Tron, and the EA network is just embarrassing. Wholly inadequate number of EA chargers, many chargers are broken and there are lots of places we can't go to without having to use slow chargers or going out of our way to charge.
 
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We've been road tripping with the wife's e-Tron, and the EA network is just embarrassing. Wholly inadequate number of EA chargers, many chargers are broken and there are lots of places we can't go to without having to use slow chargers or going out of our way to charge.
Why a Tesla is still the best bet.

My hope is that with infrastructure money and attention, EA will be fixed and improved, along with all of the other CCS1 options. Win for everyone.
 
We've been road tripping with the wife's e-Tron, and the EA network is just embarrassing. Wholly inadequate number of EA chargers, many chargers are broken and there are lots of places we can't go to without having to use slow chargers or going out of our way to charge.
It's been my experience that they seem to favor multiple charging locations versus having a lot of chargers at one location. The most chargers I've seen at one site is 8.

There are also parts of the country where there isn't much at all.

Like there isn't anything past Newport, OR on the Oregon coast until you get to California.
 
It's been my experience that they seem to favor multiple charging locations versus having a lot of chargers at one location. The most chargers I've seen at one site is 8.

There are also parts of the country where there isn't much at all.

Like there isn't anything past Newport, OR on the Oregon coast until you get to California.
The only "large" EA site I've seen in the entire PacNW is the one in Everett, WA. All the other locations I've seen only have 3 or 4 stalls... And yeah, we were going to drive down the Oregon coast a few months ago, and I saw that there aren't many EA charging stops on the 101 in Oregon.