Hawaii - HECO fast charger rates going up December 12th

[nanimac]

A few of those people who use the HECO fast chargers with their chaedmo adapters have mentioned that the rates will be going up significantly. They are switching from a flat fee to a per kilowatt-hour charge which is $0.49 to $0.57/kwh on time of use period. SUPERCHARGERS ----where are you???????

Electric Vehicle Charging Locations

 

[KevinY]

Holy crap wtf! That rate increases my average kwh cost to fast charge 4x.
Must be all those small battery owners complaining about Tesla's paying the same amount for much more kw. On average this is going to cost them more to charge.
I only hope this added revenue will help to increase the construction of more fast chargers.

 

[G'sinHawaii]

free supercharging.... free supercharging.... lol, yes, with more and more EV's in this state and the few free charging stations, they are usually never open, as there is almost always a LEAF charging, or the I wish i was an EV (plug in hybrid ) (I didnt just type that ) yes I did

and whats up with ppl parking in charging stalls and NOT CHARGING!!!!

 

[cantbechanged]

We were iced by two cars at target yesterday too. It would be nice to get that supercharger for those of us still on 120V at home.

 

[dsmith2189]

Just for reference here are some of my charging stats at the DC Charger.
kWh provided depends on if another car is plugged in on the adjacent charger.
1:02 hours charging is about 36.36kWh (old $6.50 std rate) New rate would be between $17.81 and $20.72
0:47 hours charging is about 35.28kWh (old $6.50 std rate) New rate would be between $17.28 and $20.11
1:02 hours charging is about 33.68kWh (old $6.50 std rate) New rate would be between $16.50 and $19.19
1:34 hours charging is about 57.19kWh (old $7.00 peak time) New rate would be between $28.02 and $32.59
that is for a single charge. charging 2-3 times a week.

 

[KevinY]

It hurts to see those numbers.
The new rate makes my Tesla as efficient to drive as my 3/4 ton Nissan V8 cargo van.
Guess I'll start charging at home again or be spending more time at Tesla chargers.

 

[miimura]

$6.50 for a session of nearly unlimited length was not sustainable. $6.50 for a 30 minute session is reasonable at just under $0.22/minute or about $0.30/kWh. In Silicon Valley, the two ChargePoint fast charge sites are $0.25/min or $0.25/kWh. $0.49/kWh is relatively high, but comparable to EVgo Flex fees nationwide at $10.95 per 30 minute session. I'm happy to pay that, but only when I'm on a 100-200 mile trip in my non-Tesla EV.

 

[bpmharris]

Just had a chat with Linda from HECO. This is what transpired:

Hi Kyle,


There is no question that home charging is the least cost paid alternative, and it is less expensive mile-for-mile than fueling a typical gasoline powered vehicle. Fast chargers are provided for speed and convenience to counter range anxiety, not for the lowest price. The PUC is very concerned that Hawaiian Electric makes the DC Fast Charging rates fairer to all customers. Under the previous flat fee charging pricing structure, some customer with EVs with large batteries were paying much less than others. Changing to a consumption based pricing, equalizes the cost for all EVs who use the chargers.


When we first created the DC fast charging program almost 5 years ago, the pricing was established as a flat rate, rather than consumption based, due to some technical limitations at the time. However, the pricing was determined based on an assumed amount of energy consumption per session. Due to the proliferation of larger battery EVs, per session usage is much higher than that original estimate. Hawaiian Electric takes no profit on the DC fast charger program, but it needs to be a self-sustaining enterprise, or there is a chance the entire program may be cancelled in the future. As a regulated utility all rates must be filed and approved by the PUC, and they are very sensitive about costs being subsidized by Hawaiian Electric ratepayers.


However, we will be monitoring usage of the stations with this new price structure, and may propose changes if there are significant variations to the use patterns. Thanks for your support of electric mobility.



Thanks,

Linda