Supercharger - Sagamore Beach, MA

[ADN_ModelS]

Latest email:

In speaking with the Town administrator just now I have been told that its a Commonwealth of Massachusetts permitting issue. Tesla has not secured the proper permits from the State. The electrical inspector has no outstanding issues with the charging station electrical components. Therefore the issue is with Tesla not the Town of Bourne. I will have a memo ASAP and I have put it on the agenda for Tuesday night.

Sent from my iPad

Peter J. Meier
Chairman-Bourne Board of Selectmen

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

I think the majority is being very respectful and your last sentence is in poor taste.

To respond to the message you were trying to convey...some very intelligent individuals at Tesla designed the Supercharger. If something were to go wrong at one of these stations and someone was electrocuted, Tesla would have a PR nightmare (and wouldn't have an adequate charging network) that would potentially put them out of business. I find it hard to believe that they wouldn't communicate with the town and follow proper protocol.

I think we are very accepting of a project not being signed off for good reason. We don't want our cars to fry, we don't want to be injured while charging, etc. Based on the information that has been provided it appears that the site was built according to code and the inspector could have signed off if he wanted to. It appears that he is choosing not to because he is not happy about not being properly informed of the project (Tesla filed all the paper work, it was approved by the town...apparently he didn't get this information) and did not have a say in who the site was constructed by (may have wanted a local MA Master Electrician although this is not required).

What we are frustrated about is the lack of attempt to find a resolution.

The only people who have all the facts are Tesla and the inspector, but we are all free to ask for answers.

Really ...

Good Evening Selectmen,


As a Tesla owner and a life long resident of Bourne, I wanted to express my displeasure with the seemingly unnecessary delay in the permitting of the Sagamore Supercharging Station.


It was looking like this would be the first site up and running in the Massachusetts; but with at least two other sites under construction, that may no longer be the case. Instead of the ribbon cutting ceremonies we have seen in other states, we are looking at the yellow caution tape that has been blocking the Tesla parking lot for several months.


It is starting to appear that Bourne is not yet accepting of these types of green projects. My thoughts of putting solar panels on my roof has come to a screeching halt. I worry about spending the money, only to have the town decide that they don't agree or approve of these newer technologies.


It is my understanding that the Supercharger has been completed for a month and just needs approval. I hope that the approval is delayed for good reason and not for personal or political reasons. I look to you, my selectmen, for help on getting this situation resolved.


Thank You,
<<MassX1317>>

You call that respectful? You didn't even give them a chance to respond before jumping to conclusions and hinting that they're a bunch of reactionaries.
How about you write to Tesla ask them why there is a seemingly unnecessary delay, and tell them that you hope it's not because they're deliberately delaying the activation to reduce their rent and electricity costs, and that it's beginning to seem that they're just another bunch of greedy corporate scum.

 

[MassX1317]

Really ...



You call that respectful? You didn't even give them a chance to respond before jumping to conclusions and hinting that they're a bunch of reactionaries.
How about you write to Tesla ask them why there is a seemingly unnecessary delay, and tell them that you hope it's not because they're deliberately delaying the activation to reduce their rent and electricity costs, and that it's beginning to seem that they're just another bunch of greedy corporate scum.

Talk about disrespectful...

- - - Updated - - -

- The site is delayed. I am not happy with the way it is being handled. Rip it up, fix it or sign off on it. Problem solved. Sitting there for a month addresses nothing.

- I'm not spending $40k to get solar panels on my roof only to have a contractor run into issues getting the project signed off. Something like this throws up huge red flags.

- I hope the delay is for good reason, what's wrong with that?

 

[cfava]

Latest email:

In speaking with the Town administrator just now I have been told that its a Commonwealth of Massachusetts permitting issue. Tesla has not secured the proper permits from the State. The electrical inspector has no outstanding issues with the charging station electrical components. Therefore the issue is with Tesla not the Town of Bourne. I will have a memo ASAP and I have put it on the agenda for Tuesday night.

Sent from my iPad

Peter J. Meier
Chairman-Bourne Board of Selectmen

It sounds like the issue is now in front of the Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Electricians based on the response from the Town. If you read the sentence carefully, "electrical inspector has no outstanding issues with the charging station electrical components"; hence, they may have a problem with the install (who performed the install work for example). Therefore, they forwarded the issue to the State.

These are just my thoughts....

 

[tga]

Hopefully Tesla figures out the MA permitting processes before finishing Auburn, West Springfield, etc.

- - - Updated - - -

Anyone care to speculate that Ed's role as the town's electrical inspector is very much part time, and that most of his income comes from doing higher-end electrical installations in Bourne?

I know here in my town in Maine (summer place), the Code Enforcement Officer charged with enforcing laws about (inter alia​) what trees can be cleared from shore areas is also the primary arborist whom one would hire to do such work. Hmmm...

[the irony almost had me spitting my coffee] We had a well dug in our town, and found the inspector owned the water company. Ended up gently pointing that out to the Great Commonwealth...

I wouldn't pound the "green" thing too hard. Getting rid of conflicts is green enough.

I don't think there's much of a conflict here. I've never heard of a MA town with a full-time electrical inspector; there isn't enough work to justify it. They're all either retired electricians, or full-time electricians. Sometimes one guy is the part-time inspector for multiple towns.

If you want a full-time inspector, prepare to have your taxes go up to cover the salaries. But you're proposing a fix for something that, IMHO, isn't broken.

Now if you want to discuss inspectors refusing to grant permits to qualified homeowners to do their own electrical work on their own home (as allowed by MA law), that's a different story.

 

[cfava]

Bourne Town Manager Tom Guerino called me yesterday, he is still waiting for the report from Ed explaining the State permit issue.

 

[David Rhee]

Bourne Town Manager Tom Guerino called me yesterday, he is still waiting for the report from Ed explaining the State permit issue.

Still waiting for the report from Ed? Hmm... Can someone give a little kick in his you know where? At this rate Auburn SC will be up and running first. With hundreds of Tesla Superchargers in operation around the world with zero controversies and issues, what does the town of Bourne know that others don't? This is nothing more than just a guy with a bruised ego.

 

[shelbri]

Sounds like it is in the State's hands not the local town given the supposed Master Electricians license issue. No SCs in the state yet so they have no first hand experience.

Maybe West Hartford,CT will go online before this is resolved. CT seems to be easier to deal with than MA.

 

[Cottonwood]

Sounds like it is in the State's hands not the local town given the supposed Master Electricians license issue. No SCs in the state yet so they have no first hand experience.

Maybe West Hartford,CT will go online before this is resolved. CT seems to be easier to deal with than MA.

Auburn, MA is making great progress. Auburn MA Proposed Supercharger - Page 8

At this rate, Auburn could come on-line before Sagamore, and be the first Supercharger in the state.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Talk about disrespectful...

- - - Updated - - -

- The site is delayed. I am not happy with the way it is being handled. Rip it up, fix it or sign off on it. Problem solved. Sitting there for a month addresses nothing.

- I'm not spending $40k to get solar panels on my roof only to have a contractor run into issues getting the project signed off. Something like this throws up huge red flags.

- I hope the delay is for good reason, what's wrong with that?

What you wrote was a more verbose version of the following:

"The opening of the Tesla Supercharger has been delayed. I'm not happy about it. Is someone doing this deliberately because they don't like green projects?"

I think it's incredibly rude to imply not only that you think it's the town's fault, but that it's malicious. You could simply have asked why it's been delayed.

 

[shelbri]

Auburn, MA is making great progress.

Sagamore made excellent progress as well until it was time to turn things on. It has sat for over a month now in a construction completed stage but remains offline. I was just poking fun at MA.

Hopefully, the SCs will get online soon including West Springfield,MA which is currently in the permit stage as this one will be extremely helpful for those of us in CT, NY and NJ when heading to VT during the ski season.

 

[MassX1317]

What you wrote was a more verbose version of the following:

"The opening of the Tesla Supercharger has been delayed. I'm not happy about it. Is someone doing this deliberately because they don't like green projects?"

I think it's incredibly rude to imply not only that you think it's the town's fault, but that it's malicious. You could simply have asked why it's been delayed.

Yeah because that would have got a response? It's pretty pathetic that you come here and critique me. It's all rainbows and butterflies over in Sagamore. It has been sitting there ready for power for a month but it's no ones fault. Everyone is thrilled to see the yellow tape blocking the lot. Do you not think Tesla knows how to build these things by now? If no one gave a damn, nothing would ever get done. People needed to voice their concerns over the permit, they did, and now the Town is looking for answers. I asked the inspector nearly a month ago why it was delayed and he couldn't really give me a straight answer. As you can see from what other people have posted in this thread, he appears to be delaying the process for whatever reason. Is it malicious, I don't know, is it new technology that local electricians haven't got a chance to see and understand yet, maybe, does he want to cover his behind just in case something goes wrong, can't blame him for that. Whatever the reason is, it needed to be addressed, and from the multiple conversations I have had with the town, they appear to be working on it.

 

[MassX1317]

For those who were not on the email from the Town Administrator:

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Yeah because that would have got a response? It's pretty pathetic that you come here and critique me.

How do you know? You didn't even try. You went straight to a negative hypothesis about the town.

 

[mitch672]

if you read the email reply from "Ed" above, it's pretty clear HE is the one who caused the issue, insisting on a "disconnect" for public access? really, Ed, no other SuperCharger of the over 100 sites in the U.S. felt a need for this, but you do, and are smarter than Tesla Engineering? Pleeease Ed, get a grip. sending the issue upstream to the state board of licensure is just a stalling tactic.

myself, I would have pointed him to the SAE J-1772 and DC Fast Charging documents, showing how the handshake works, and that there is no high voltage present during connect/disconnect. "Ed" probably couldn't grasp that concept anyway.

 

[cfava]

I know Ed spoke with the Auburn inspector as well. Once he files a complaint to the State about the disconnect issue, it could stall both Superchargers. I very disappointed.

 

[MassX1317]

All issues may have been resolved this evening. I will let you know if I hear anything concrete.

 

[cfava]

Good work everyone

 

[skboston]

Thanks for the constant update on the ongoing issue with the Sagamore location. I've been waiting on this to go live for a while like everyone else and this is another example of the arrogance of electricians/inspectors and their grip on technology and innovation.

I hope it gets resolved soon and perhaps will be able to use it before the snow hits.

 

[ADN_ModelS]

All issues may have been resolved this evening. I will let you know if I hear anything concrete.

Thank you very much MassX1317 for being on top of this. Keep up the good work... keep bugging them. This entire debacle is decidedly despicable, and you are making a difference in many people's lives with your diligent focus.