It can't be 1 or 2, that would only cause that supercharger pair to be down, not the entire site. Only a power supply problem would cause the entire site to go down.
Supercharger - Newark, DE
- Thread starter yobigd20
- Start date
I got an email from Dr. Kempton and he says both of the 18 kW J-1772 charging stations by the truck parking are working as of 7:00 PM last night. It sounds like he personally saw to it that the repair was carried out ASAP to help provide a backup for Tesla drivers. Thanks Professor Kempton and University of Delaware!
3PHASE
3PHASE
If there were bushels of bureaucracy to get this fixed, then how many bushels would there have been to not only get the spot in the first place, but then recently add more charging stations?
hard for me to comment on that, but by judging on how long it did take for this installation to happen and the repairs to happen, I'd guess a lot.
Don't be so quick to blame DPL (Delmarva Power). I will hopefully get confirmation directly today from DPL but so far I do not believe it was the 'utility company'.
I agree knowing the cause is important...but less so, IMO, to how TM can notify people traveling that route asap.
I agree knowing the cause is important...but less so, IMO, to how TM can notify people traveling that route asap.
I've seen at least five stories on other forums from people who say they arrived at the Newark Supercharger last week unaware that it was out of service. Some of them needed to charge.
One said they "found out the hard way" that it wasn’t working, a second poster said they had to charge on the J-1772 there for three hours in order to make it to Bethesda. The third expressed frustration with his call to Roadside Assistance but fortunately had enough charge to get to Hamilton.
The fourth person had just gotten his car two days prior and said he barely made it back home after expecting to use it for his very first Supercharging experience. Now, he says, he’s afraid to go anywhere. The fifth story I read said they searched to find a J-1772 and sat charging in a nearby town for two hours so they could get to Hamilton.
Wow, so Tesla basically didn't help at all? Thats pretty crappy, particularly disappointing with how they've always seem to go above and beyond dealing with other superchargers that went down.
Just doing a cursory check, a 1500kW generator is only $10k to rent for a week, and Sunbelt has one available in Maryland. I don't understand why they didn't bring one in.
Well, one could speculate that getting power to the transformer was not the issue but something at the transformer level or beyond (i.e. TMs property) was.
mikeash
Active Member
We're not sure if all of the people telling the stories called Roadside Assistance or not. But one of them claimed they tried to check if the Supercharger was still down but hung up after waiting 20 minutes and went on faith since the Nav system was telling them to stop in Newark to charge.
mrgoldin
Member
We stopped at Delaware SC yesterday, after it was posted that the site was active again. A maintenance man in a yellow vest said Tesla didn't pay the bill, which added up to $10K, so the utility shut off the power. Tesla paid the bill immediately, but the utility took its time restoring power to the SC. I don't know how much of this is true, just passing it along.
mikeash
Active Member
Drucifer
Active Member
If a facility I managed was shut down due to failure to pay the bill, I would be forced to look for a new job. Seriously, I would be canned like a tuna.
CHRGIT
Member
Hmm, I posted on Thursday that there were no reported power issues on Delmarva power. Makes sense.
NJ Plugin
Member
- Apr 9, 2013
- 529
- 105
I would hate to see Elon's Black Amex bill this month.
Half Dollar Bill
Traveller, teacher, poet, accountant, innkeeper
Ahhh, the Solar City purchase makes sense now
cpa
Active Member
If this is indeed true, Tesla has some internal control issues in Palo Alto or wherever they pay their bills. I have been a controller for a couple of different companies during my career (none nearly as large as Tesla, however.) Trade accounts payable systems (think paper flow, not computers) have been around for over a century, and there just are not that many permutations to have a secure system where only authorized payments are approved, recorded and paid timely.
--What is Tesla's organizational structure for paying vendor invoices?
--Who approves the payments? How many approvals are required?
--Who verifies that the checks to be printed have been authorized and coded properly?
--Who determines payment terms? Take the 2% discount if paid within 10 days? String the vendor out for 45 days?
--How often does Tesla mail out their vendor payments? Daily? Weekly? Semi-monthly?
--Who reviews internal reports for critical vendor payments like electricity and integral parts and supplies to ensure that there is no interruption?
--Does Tesla have a policy for issuing emergency checks immediately, or does everybody have to wait for the next computer-generated check cycle? Who is allowed to make this determination?
There could easily be from 2-4 different individuals involved in all the above questions. Likely the Controller or Financial VP can override things if they are aware and appropriate staff is out of the office. Or maybe there is a bottleneck at the top, and someone was away for a couple of weeks, and this payment languished.
We on the Forum are acutely aware of ongoing communication issues with Tesla Motors. Perhaps these communication issues are not strictly limited to customer service and satisfaction.
mikeash
Active Member
I looked this up to make sure I wasn't completely blowing smoke. One incident is mentioned here, although without details:
Tesla loses its credit rating in Norway over ~$250,000 of unpaid bills
That, of course, paints a pretty bad picture of Tesla's bill-paying in general.
The other one I thought I saw was Knoxville, but I went and re-read that thread and it was a problem with power quality, not unpaid bills.
Sorry for the misinformation, although the general thrust seems to be right. I'll rate myself 5/10.
Tesla loses its credit rating in Norway over ~$250,000 of unpaid bills
That, of course, paints a pretty bad picture of Tesla's bill-paying in general.
The other one I thought I saw was Knoxville, but I went and re-read that thread and it was a problem with power quality, not unpaid bills.
Sorry for the misinformation, although the general thrust seems to be right. I'll rate myself 5/10.
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