Electrify America Strands Motorists

[dfwatt]

The Model 3 has become our family's main road trip car. A Model 3 LR's supercharging interval matches pretty well with the kiddie potty break interval. And the nice thing about supercharging (or any fast charging) versus filling gas is you can leave the car unattended, so in practice a 40 minute charging plus food stop doesn't add any more time than a 5 minute gas stop plus 35 minute food stop.

Exactly! What we find is that by the time we're finished going to the bathroom, getting some food, stretching our legs, and maybe restocking some drinks and so forth, charging Is done or almost done. In that sense I am not sure much faster charging is really needed. It would always be nice, but I am not sure it's really necessary, At least for the long distance driving that we do. For commuters and perhaps for other folks this analysis may not apply.

 

[manitou820]

Yay on EA's switch to kWh pricing. Boo on the $0.43/kWh price.

Hey, a Model X supercharging at 28c/kWh costs 9.24c/mile. A Lucid Air at an EA station at 43c/kWh costs 9.38c/mile. That's pretty close. An Audi e-tron charging at EA costs 18.92c/mile. Oof.

That's using EPA numbers which isn't quite accurate. I have an X and an E-tron. On a fully battery at highway speeds I'm getting around 240 miles in the X and 215 miles in the E-tron.

So it's probably closer to $0.10/mi for the X and $0.16/mi for the E-tron.

But Tesla is still cheap. They are different than EA because they can lose money or just break even on their superchargers. Unlike EA which is a separate company from VAG and needs to be profitable. It will be interesting to see if Tesla will keep the prices low in the future or if they will start to creep up as investors demand they become more profitable. Fingers crossed.

 

[Watts_Up]

Long overdue... Electrify America updates pricing with fairer kWh-based model resulting in lower prices - Electrek

Giovanni Palazzo, president and chief executive officer of Electrify America, commented on today’s announcement:

Electrify America has listened to feedback from electric vehicle owners, potential customers, and longtime industry advocates. As a result we have developed a new pricing structure that is fair, consistent, and recognizes the increasing customer demand for kilowatt-hour pricing. With the new pricing, we deliver a simplified charging experience that shows new and existing customers how easy it is to own an EV. The new kWh-based pricing is available in 23 states, where it is possible based on the local regulations:

In those states, which are home to over 70% of Electrify America’s customers, EV owners charging on Electrify America’s network will be charged $0.43 per kWh. For those who decide to pay a $4 per month Electrify America subscription, the price per kWh goes down to $0.31.Also of note, with this update, Electrify America has removed its $1 charge per charging session. In the other markets, Electrify America is obligated to keep a per-minute pricing model due to local regulations controlling the sale of electricity.

Is there any fees if you don't unplug when charging is completed?

 

[MorrisonHiker]

A friend who uses EA charging stations just complained to me yesterday that they changed it from per kW billing to per minute billing and it's now costing him twice as much to charge. I tried checking prices on EA's website and it says "For station-specific pricing, please download the Electrify America app."

No thanks.

 

[miimura]

A friend who uses EA charging stations just complained to me yesterday that they changed it from per kW billing to per minute billing and it's now costing him twice as much to charge. I tried checking prices on EA's website and it says "For station-specific pricing, please download the Electrify America app."

No thanks.

It's even worse than that. After you install the app, you have to create an account in order to see anything useful. After some period of inactivity, your login token expires and you have to log in again. They "support" FaceID / TouchID, but it doesn't do anything useful because you have to enter your username and password again regardless. I only open the app to occasionally look at station availability and newly opened stations and I invariably have to look up my password and enter the credentials EVERY SINGLE TIME.
Just stay away if you can.

 

[Eno Deb]

A friend who uses EA charging stations just complained to me yesterday that they changed it from per kW billing to per minute billing and it's now costing him twice as much to charge.

He must have misunderstood something. They just switched from per-minute to per-kW pricing in states that allow it (previously they charged per minute everywhere), and generally the prices are now more transparent (no more tiers) and lower. They also don't charge the $1 session fee anymore. If you have the $4/month subscription, it's about the same as Tesla's prices.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

He must have misunderstood something. They just switched from per-minute to per-kW pricing in states that allow it (previously they charged per minute everywhere), and generally the prices are now more transparent (no more tiers) and lower. They also don't charge the $1 session fee anymore. If you have the $4/month subscription, it's about the same as Tesla's prices.

I just reread his message. He wrote "EA just switched to price per KWH off of per minute. Just doubled the cost for me to charge." So maybe he is saying they switched to per kW...but in his case, it sounds like it's costing him more (or at least that's his perception so far). I'll have to get more details. He has a Spark with CCS.

 

[manitou820]

If you pay the $4/month subscription it drops to $0.31/kWh. That's really close to Tesla's price of $0.28/kWh. If you are charging on the road all the time then it would be worth the subscription.

 

[Cheburashka]

I just reread his message. He wrote "EA just switched to price per KWH off of per minute. Just doubled the cost for me to charge." So maybe he is saying they switched to per kW...but in his case, it sounds like it's costing him more (or at least that's his perception so far). I'll have to get more details. He has a Spark with CCS.

I used to have a Spark. It charges up to 50kW but tapers past 80%. Only a 20kwh battery though so I would assume it should still be cheaper or about the same with the new pricing.

 

[Eno Deb]

If you pay the $4/month subscription it drops to $0.31/kWh. That's really close to Tesla's price of $0.28/kWh. If you are charging on the road all the time then it would be worth the subscription.

Even for a single roadtrip subscribing for a month will usually be worth it (at $.12 difference per kWh, the $4 fee pays for itself after charging about 33 kWh).

 

[manitou820]

Even for a single roadtrip subscribing for a month will usually be worth it (at $.12 difference per kWh, the $4 fee pays for itself after charging about 33 kWh).

Honestly I think it's a good sign if an independent company can survive by providing a high speed charging network at those prices. We can't all rely on Tesla as the only charging network. The vast majority of us charge at home regularly, so I don't mind paying a little bit of a premium for high speed charging on a road trip. I just want it to be less than filling up a gas powered car.

 

[Dan Flod]

The Electrify America network is down nation wide right now.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

A friend who uses EA charging stations just complained to me yesterday that they changed it from per kW billing to per minute billing and it's now costing him twice as much to charge. I tried checking prices on EA's website and it says "For station-specific pricing, please download the Electrify America app."

No thanks.

You don't need the app. You can see them on the website. I'm looking on a tablet in Firefox.
Maybe try requesting desktop site if you're on a phone, if it's pushing the app too hard.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

You don't need the app. You can see them on the website. I'm looking on a tablet in Firefox.
Maybe try requesting desktop site if you're on a phone, if it's pushing the app too hard.

Since I made that post a month ago, it looks like they have updated their site. I can now see pricing information on mobile and desktop and am no longer prompted to download the app.

 

[dfwatt]

Honestly I think it's a good sign if an independent company can survive by providing a high speed charging network at those prices. We can't all rely on Tesla as the only charging network. The vast majority of us charge at home regularly, so I don't mind paying a little bit of a premium for high speed charging on a road trip. I just want it to be less than filling up a gas powered car.

And I would bet dollars to donuts you want to be able to pull up to a charger that actually works! For this reason electrify America is not the answer. At least not in its current disorganised form. In its current form it seems about as reliable as vw group diesel emission controls.

 

[miimura]

Since I made that post a month ago, it looks like they have updated their site. I can now see pricing information on mobile and desktop and am no longer prompted to download the app.

However, the web site has only static information about which sites are open or Coming Soon. The web site does not have live status information like which stations are down or which sites are "unavailable" like the app does. The app also indicates the max power capability of each station at a site.
For example, the app indicates that the Baker, CA site is completely unavailable, but the web site merely says it has 7 CCS + 1 CCS-CHAdeMO station.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

However, the web site has only static information about which sites are open or Coming Soon. The web site does not have live status information like which stations are down or which sites are "unavailable" like the app does. The app also indicates the max power capability of each station at a site.
For example, the app indicates that the Baker, CA site is completely unavailable, but the web site merely says it has 7 CCS + 1 CCS-CHAdeMO station.

I'm sure the app has its benefits for those who actually do use EA charging locations.

I originally posted last month that a friend was affected by the price EA change. I was trying to research the price change to compare to Supercharging. At the time, they had no prices online and I had no interest in downloading the app just to see the pricing at each location.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

lol, sure sounds like something VW would do. Get a few people to buy EVs, tick them off, they buy gas cars!

 

[bgrynn1873]

For the most part if you have a Tesla first choice is always a supercharger. They are simple to use and they work.

But I also know EA is another option if I need it. They're also not the only other network I can use there are lots of options out there just look at plugshare. Fast charging is really no different then like using a different gas station and glad tesla have adapters

The best deal out there is all the level II and destination chargers that are free. Plan it right and you can pretty much travel for free. I just saved about $250 in gas but using these chargers at hotels and restaurants. To be honest I am shocked it worked so well.

 

[Darren Donovan]

Slightly more so than having to do such trips in a Tesla.

Because the Tesla vehicle is still at the service center?