Supercharger - Los Gatos (expanded Jun 2021, 20 Urban stalls)

[dgatwood]

Like all the other V2-era superchargers around here, this one is in bad shape (after less than two years!), with multiple stalls down and others working but ultra-slow and coned off. I’m barely able to get one mile per minute here, and watching for one of the non-coned stalls to become available....

I think there must be a design flaw in the hardware that causes this 23 kW and cycling on and off behavior, because I’ve seen it at enough malfunctioning superchargers to recognize the pattern.

 

[thecloud]

...multiple stalls down and others working but ultra-slow and coned off. I’m barely able to get one mile per minute here, and watching for one of the non-coned stalls to become available....

Given this supercharger's unfortunate location, there could be more than one way for a stall to be “coned” here.

 

[SMAlset]

Good one @thecloud! Although one kind of coning is less expensive in time and money than the other that's for sure.

Really sorry to hear about the state of the superchargers in this area. I would think being so close to Rt 17 going towards the coast where charging is limited and not really fast if you're lucky enough to find something, that this would be fast tracked to find out what the power issues are. Wonder how "in the know" Tesla is about this location. In the past when we saw problems at Gilroy for example we would call the number on the chargers to report at least, but last time we tried that it seemed they didn't want that issue reported by that phone number. They need to standardize on how to report things like this for faster servicing and make it something people are aware of through the screens on their app or on their car.

 

[Haxster]

According to the Alternate Wiki, squirrels are very territorial and aggressive, but have poor eyesight. When they're up in the pine trees and look down at a dark colored Tesla with a cable/tail out the back, they see what looks to them like a giant squirrel. Hence, the attack with the pine cones.

 

[Cheburashka]

Got hit with an acorn today. Luckily no damage, hit the hood. Man, those acorns are huge. I can see how it can break glass.

Also, 2 chargers have been down for a while and I haven't seen above 50kW here in a really long time... Where is the SC maintenance team?

 

[Oldschool496]

Where is the SC maintenance team?

Sorry for the Acorn. Even worse is your in LG and your SC must be one of the worst. That's disappointing, not to be believed really, so close to mother ship and the worst treatment. I think you should put in a call or 20 to Tesla.

 

[mociaf9]

https://mccmeetingspublic.blob.core...ment-004-8529ca0ba51d4bbe9c301fb86446a4b6.pdf

In February, the Town Council approved an amendment to their agreement with Tesla for the expansion of the supercharger station and the addition of 8 more EVCS. I assume these will all be superchargers, but it's possible that it will be a mix of superchargers and more universal L2 stations like what was originally installed.

Approve a First Amendment to a Parking Agreement with Tesla, Inc. for the Installation of Eight Additional Charging Stations in the North Parking Lot, Resetting the Term, Establishing Lease Payments to the Town of $8,000 per Month, and Approve a Revenue Budget Adjustment in the Amount of $48,000 to Reserve the Lease Proceeds in the General Fund Appropriated Reserve that will be Transferred to the Future Downtown Parking Fund to Collect Parking Revenue for Infrastructure Improvements in Downtown

 

[Cheburashka]

Great news. This SC is still full all the time.

 

[MarcoRP]

https://mccmeetingspublic.blob.core...ment-004-8529ca0ba51d4bbe9c301fb86446a4b6.pdf

In February, the Town Council approved an amendment to their agreement with Tesla for the expansion of the supercharger station and the addition of 8 more EVCS. I assume these will all be superchargers, but it's possible that it will be a mix of superchargers and more universal L2 stations like what was originally installed.

It's all Superchargers, from what I can tell. What a coincidence, I just found the pre-app and was gonna come here to post about it. Gonna be V2 though

 

[1100MCM]

It doesn’t help that off peak supercharging rates are 16 cents per kWh here. That’s probably cheaper than charging at home for many.

Great news. This SC is still full all the time.

 

[miimura]

It doesn’t help that off peak supercharging rates are 16 cents per kWh here. That’s probably cheaper than charging at home for many.

That is cheaper than the PG&E residential EV2 rate that applies in that area. The latest rate increase on March 1st brought the EV2 Off-Peak rate up to $0.18366/kWh. In May 2020 it was only $0.16611/kWh.

 

[HappyM3]

Peak time here is mentioned as 4 pm - 9 pm and Off-peak starts at 9 pm. If I happen to come a bit early, I usually wait till 9:01 to start charging. Recently, I started a charging session as soon as I heard the 9 pm news on radio (Note to self: Watch the clock always!) and charged 56 KWh. The session ended around 9:45 pm. I noticed later that the credit card was charged with the peak rate for the full 56 KWh. Have a few questions regarding this.

- If the charging starts at 9 pm, is it considered peak start or off-peak start ? This is just a curiosity question. Its possible I might have started it a minute or two earlier, but the ABC radio news is usually close enough to 9.

- For sessions which span the peak/off-peak boundaries, does Tesla always charge at the rate of the beginning time ? I would have thought that they would proportionally charge the peak rate for the KWh used during the peak time and the off-peak rate for the KWh post 9:01 pm. In this case, I would have charged 2 KWh max before 9:01 pm and the rest afterwards.

- Anyone know of a way to dispute the receipt with Tesla ?

 

[Mardak]

If the charging starts at 9 pm, is it considered peak start or off-peak start ?

If you go to the last screen of Tesla Account - Charging with the CSV download statements, the first column is ChargeStartDateTime down to the second (the "-07:00" at the end is time zone), so you can at least confirm when Tesla believed you started charging. A quick glance through my entries seem to show one entry per charging session, but I don't remember if I've crossed on-peak to off-peak recently.

 

[Mardak]

It doesn’t help that off peak supercharging rates are 16 cents per kWh here.

Looks like all Bay Area rates are 20¢/kWh off-peak from 7pm to 10am now with peak times double the cost. So no more need to favor this 72kW urban charger especially if there's a faster one closer.

 

[FlatSix911]

Looks like all Bay Area rates are 20¢/kWh off-peak from 7pm to 10am now with peak times double the cost. So no more need to favor this 72kW urban charger especially if there's a faster one closer.

Good to know... was there a formal announcement from Tesla on the new rate structure?

 

[FlatSix911]

Never mind... it looks like the rate information appears on the charging screen. Not available to free lifetime SC owners.

More information from Electrek... Tesla introduces new 50% Supercharging discount at night in California to help with capacity - Electrek

Now the automaker is introducing another type of Supercharger discount again in California, one of Tesla’s most important markets.
Several California-based Tesla owners are reporting having received this message in their in-app notifications:

Avoid the rush and save 50% on your charging fees before 10 a.m. and after 7 p.m. at all Superchargers in California’s major metro areas. For specific rates and eligible sites, tap the Supercharger map pin on your in-car touchscreen.

The focus on urban Supercharger stations appears to aim to incentivize Tesla owners who regularly use Superchargers as their main way of charging, mainly for apartment dwellers who might have difficulty getting home charging, to charge at night in order to reduce daytime usage and wait times.

 

[wws]

Never mind... it looks like the rate information appears on the charging screen. Not available to free lifetime SC owners.

More information from Electrek... Tesla introduces new 50% Supercharging discount at night in California to help with capacity - Electrek

Now the automaker is introducing another type of Supercharger discount again in California, one of Tesla’s most important markets.
Several California-based Tesla owners are reporting having received this message in their in-app notifications:


The focus on urban Supercharger stations appears to aim to incentivize Tesla owners who regularly use Superchargers as their main way of charging, mainly for apartment dwellers who might have difficulty getting home charging, to charge at night in order to reduce daytime usage and wait times.

Kinda shows how messed up the utility rates are in PG+E land. The most expensive TOU residential peak times are from 4 pm to 9 pm. Yet one would think the cheapest rates should be during the day - when there is lots of inexpensive solar generation on the grid. As one with net metered solar on my home, I guess I shouldn't complain too much - or they'll start giving me only $0.03/kWh for my excess...

 

[EVCarGUy]

Kinda shows how messed up the utility rates are in PG+E land. The most expensive TOU residential peak times are from 4 pm to 9 pm. Yet one would think the cheapest rates should be during the day - when there is lots of inexpensive solar generation on the grid.

Oh, you don't even know now messed up it is. California tells some utility solar farms to turn off their solar systems during peak periods. It's called 'curtailment'

See daily reports from the Independent System Operator's website: California ISO - Managing Oversupply

The shift to a clean, efficient and modern grid is essential to California's economy and its environment. This transition to a low-carbon grid provides challenges and opportunities, as the state incorporates increasing amounts of renewable energy on to the electric system. Sometimes, during the middle of the day, California's renewable resources can generate more electricity than is needed.

During these periods of surplus energy, the ISO's market automatically reduces the production of energy from renewable resources, or “curtail" generation. In rare instances, when economic bids from generators are insufficient, ISO operators manually curtail production to maintain the balance between supply and demand.

While curtailment is an acceptable operational tool, as increasing amounts of renewable resources, oversupply conditions are expected to occur more often. The ISO is seeking solutions to avoid or reduce the amount of curtailment of renewable power to maximize the use of clean energy sources.

Yes, during the time of day we get charged the absolute peak price for electricity, the state is telling some solar farms they can't sell their electricity. Those folks would happily sell me electricity for far, far cheaper than the $0.60/kWhr (summer afternoon rate) I have to pay PG&E (yes, there's a necessary markup from wholesale to retail), but they aren't allowed to compete.

Home solar actually makes the curtailment problem worse as PG&E is forced to buy a home owner's excess solar. That makes it even more likely commercial solar farms will be curtailed.

Yes, I understand the reasons for curtailment. But, man it sure is frustrating to see all of that green energy wasted because PG&E has long term contracts that force it to buy fossil fuel based power in favor of green energy.

 

[1100MCM]

Oh, you don't even know now messed up it is. California tells some utility solar farms to turn off their solar systems during peak periods. It's called 'curtailment'

See daily reports from the Independent System Operator's website: California ISO - Managing Oversupply

The shift to a clean, efficient and modern grid is essential to California's economy and its environment. This transition to a low-carbon grid provides challenges and opportunities, as the state incorporates increasing amounts of renewable energy on to the electric system. Sometimes, during the middle of the day, California's renewable resources can generate more electricity than is needed.

During these periods of surplus energy, the ISO's market automatically reduces the production of energy from renewable resources, or “curtail" generation. In rare instances, when economic bids from generators are insufficient, ISO operators manually curtail production to maintain the balance between supply and demand.

While curtailment is an acceptable operational tool, as increasing amounts of renewable resources, oversupply conditions are expected to occur more often. The ISO is seeking solutions to avoid or reduce the amount of curtailment of renewable power to maximize the use of clean energy sources.

Yes, during the time of day we get charged the absolute peak price for electricity, the state is telling some solar farms they can't sell their electricity. Those folks would happily sell me electricity for far, far cheaper than the $0.60/kWhr (summer afternoon rate) I have to pay PG&E (yes, there's a necessary markup from wholesale to retail), but they aren't allowed to compete.

Home solar actually makes the curtailment problem worse as PG&E is forced to buy a home owner's excess solar. That makes it even more likely commercial solar farms will be curtailed.

Yes, I understand the reasons for curtailment. But, man it sure is frustrating to see all of that green energy wasted because PG&E has long term contracts that force it to buy fossil fuel based power in favor of green energy.

We’re veering off topic but I’ll say this. The Western EIM (Energy Imbalance Market) will be a tremendous help as neighboring states will be able to take any excess solar generated in CA. I think the days of curtailments will soon be over once most Western Interconnection utilities join the market and they are well on track to do this.

 

[HappyM3]

If you go to the last screen of Tesla Account - Charging with the CSV download statements, the first column is ChargeStartDateTime down to the second (the "-07:00" at the end is time zone), so you can at least confirm when Tesla believed you started charging. A quick glance through my entries seem to show one entry per charging session, but I don't remember if I've crossed on-peak to off-peak recently.

Thanks for that tip. Looks like the CSV doc is available only at the end of the month. I will reach out to the customer support email id.

Looks like all Bay Area rates are 20¢/kWh off-peak from 7pm to 10am now with peak times double the cost. So no more need to favor this 72kW urban charger especially if there's a faster one closer.

Some have 20c/kWh all day - Cupertino/Stevens Creek, Fremont/Pacific Commons, Menlo Park