Electrify America To Limit EV Charging To 85 Percent At Some California Charging Stations
36
Sponsored Links
As the automotive industry inches closer to mainstream electrification, the particulars of EV ownership are being sorted out in real-time. That includes charging, with some EV owners expressing frustration over “charger hogs” that stay plugged in for extended periods of time to top off to 100 percent. Now, Electrify America is testing out a potential solution.
The issue comes back to the way EV batteries are charged. When plugged into a quick charger, an EV battery will usually get up to roughly 80 percent in a matter of minutes. However, beyond that 80-percent charge mark, the charge rate drops dramatically, possibly taking hours to get up to 100 percent charged.
This slow charge rate beyond 80 percent has led to some EV owners labeling individuals who leave their vehicles plugged in for extended periods as “charger hogs,” potentially causing further congestion at charging stations that already have long lines to plug in.
The problem is exacerbated by free charging programs, such as those offered by Electrify America through agreements with certain automakers. In these cases, drivers may want to maximize their free charging time by topping off to 100 percent. Brands that offer free “Ultra-Fast” charging with Electrify America include Audi, BMW, Ford, Genesis, Hyundai, Kia, Lucid, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Volkswagen.
To address this issue, Electrify America is implementing a new trial program at 10 of its busiest EV fast chargers in California. According to a report from CNN, the trial will limit charge capacity to 85 percent in an effort to reduce the number of so-called “charger hogs.” Once an EV reaches 85 percent capacity, charging will automatically stop, and the driver will be encouraged to unplug and vacate the spot. If the driver does not move from the spot, they will be charged a 40-cent-per-minute idle time fee.
It’s also worth noting that limiting charging to a maximum of 80 percent is considered a best practice for EV ownership. Regularly charging up to 100 percent can take a toll on the battery chemistry and potentially reduce the amount of electricity the battery can hold over time.
Subscribe to GM Authority for more GM electric vehicle news, GM technology news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Sponsored Links
That should be a setting in the car not the charger. If I want to do the ridiculous task of having to only charge to 85% just so my stupid battery lasts as long as the car does (something I don’t need to worry about with a fuel tank) then it should be a setting I control. It would be part of my maintenance procedures.
Evolving in real time. A giant science experiment.
The ability to set various charging levels is already a setting available in every Chevy Bolt. It can be preset to the level charged when at home (automatically sensing when the car is at home), preset to the level charged to when away, and a bypassed for the present charging session to what ever level the driver wants to set.
It even lets the driver pre-program in the times when it is least expensive to charge (due to TOU or Time-Of-Use rates from the local electric utility company). For instance, when I get home I plug in my car and it automatically waits until midnight to start charging because it’s less expensive, and is finished charging by 3am on my level 2 charger (because I drive about 70 miles per day and a level 2 charger is good for about 24-miles-of-range/hr) to my desired 80% of charge.
Easy!!!
and very inexpensive!
and no stops at the gas station!
and I can drive in the carpool lane by myself legally!
EA is obviously doing this to increase revenue since they sell expensive electricity by the Kilowatt-hour…. Therefore only cars charging at their fastest rates are allowed…. The CCS1 standard allows all fast charging Equipment to know the current state of charge in the car, and the car owner is VOLUNTEERING to purchase their product..
Like all Electric Car Purchases, no one is forcing anyone to buy them.
Likewise, no one is forcing anyone to use Electrify America products. Alternatives are to use other vendors or to just charge at home for a much cheaper expense. The “IDLE FEE” is also a TACIT AGREEMENT between the PURCHASER OF THE SERVICE and Electrify America.
They are not a non-profit. They are in the business to MAKE MONEY, and specifically, to pay for purchase, installation, maintenance, and Utility fees that incur as their product is used. They are simply trying to maximize their revenue stream.
It is UNAMERICAN to demand anything else than this.
From the serving Utility’s point of view, I am also fine with them charging ELECTRIFY AMERICA or whomever contracted for the electrical service from them, to charge whatever their publicly agreed to rate schedules request, namely DEMAND, DELIVERY, and ENERGY CHARGES.
As someone who uses both fast chargers rarely, and charges at home mostly, I have no problem with UTILITIES charging their standard rates so that they can provide the required infrastructure to not impact other customers…
Free fast charging FROM THE UTILITY just forces other customers to pay for the facilities needed. We EV drivers obviously need to carry our own weight.
Not going to help with the current distaste for EVs. I’m sure 85% is fine for many trips but if you head out on a long one, you want 100%, no? I’d just rather skip the whole unbaked mess at this time.
Gas rationing for 21st century….
Cal this is not exactly rationing…… You can go use other vendors who will allow you to charge to 100%…
Besides, this is at CONGESTED stations….. The alternative is to FORCE more people to wait in line to use the charging equipment.
Overall, this policy allows the most delivery of vital electricity to the traveling public in the shortest amount of time.
Sorry, Bill. The word limit when “refueling” screams “control”, which to me, is the greenies/lefties endgame.
Criticize “big oil”, but smile when it’s “big electric”….
Morrisangelo –
Obviously you are against TACIT AGREEMENTS…. To do so is to be UNAMERICAN.
When you went to the corner store as a kid, there were all kinds of TACIT AGREEMENTS in force.
1). You could enter the store, as long as you did it quietly. You were CONTROLLED to not cause a disturbance.
2). You had to wear shirt and shoes, and not track mud into the place, unless you volunteered to clean it all up yourself. You had to CONTROL not being a Schmuck.
3), You were allowed to EXAMINE a candy bar on the shelf one at a time, but you were CONTROLLED from disturbing the packaging or worse, putting it in your pocket.
4). BY permanently removing the item from the shelf, you were CONTROLLED to go to the Cashier and pay LEGAL TENDER for the product, and then leave quietly.
By the way, I’m CONTROLLED at a Gasoline Vending Station all the time…..
A). I have to pull up politely to the dispenser, and not block other cars or cause a disturbance.
B). The Dispenser typically does not instantly work as it used to with full-service stations, I am CONTROLLED to PAY for the product prior to getting the first drop of gasoline.
C). When done dispensing, I am controlled to neatly replace the hose back on the dispenser without dripping gasoline all over the pavement, to leave it clean for the next customer.
As far as the 85% limitation goes, this is clearly known and advertised prior to the prospective customer. People who don’t like the policy don’t have to trespass on PRIVATE PROPERTY in the first place.
P.S. When you go to a fancy restaurant you are not allowed to be a SLOB. You have to wear collared shirts (CONTROL), and in some JOYNTS you have to wear a suit coat, tie, and matching pants (EXTREME CONTROL). The PROPRIETOR has an EXTREMELY CONTROLLING LIST OF DEMANDS.
In both cases the operative phrase is – If you don’t like it , don’t come in.
Bill, if you’re looking to break down my comment with excess gibberish, you’ve succeeded.
Limit = control. Gasoline pumps do not stop you at 85% full, McDonald’s does not limit how much bad food you can buy, states do not limit how far you can drive, and on and on.
But you wrote a long diatribe defending a charging company’s willingness to limit you. That, in itself, is caving to the greenies/lefties agenda.
Would you be satisfied if your home electric utility kept your house dark or uncooled by air conditioning? Why, then, is it suddenly acceptable to you to be limited. That makes no sense, and the concept in general should be of great concern.
As for tacit agreements, are government mandates and feel-good green policies those agreements? Or are they a bit forced upon you?
Well, I can see you just want to argue….. Perhaps someone else got some illumination from what I typed. You are just insulting as what I typed was factual and not gibberish.
I have an AGREEMENT as a POWER PRODUCER for the utility to PURCHASE all my temporarily excess electricity 24/7/365, with the stipulation that the Agreement is suspended temporarily during a power outage.
Both myself and the utility have to honor our stipulations in said AGREEMENT. We have both honored all our commitments. Thankfully, your ‘two cents’ here does not interfere.
For the times during the year when there is a power outage, I make alternate arrangements.
One of them is that the utility doesn’t guarantee 100% 24/7/365 functionality.
I repeat, would you be satisfied if your home electric utility kept your house dark or uncooled by air conditioning?
Morrisangelo.
You guys have to been listening to Sean Hanity too much.. I was listening to him on the way back from about 200 miles from home yesterday. He goes on and on about Kamula Harris’ plan to implement Price ‘Gauging’. And how its a Communist program, etc….
He Neglects the little detail that ‘Conservative’ Richard M. Nixon implemented the FIRST PRICE CONTROL system since WW II, and it was somewhat more draconian than what the Camel is suggesting….
“I repeat, would you be satisfied if you home electric utility kept your house dark or uncooled?”
That shows you don’t understand the issue at all. These utilities in NY State are REGULATED MONOPOLIES. Therefore I have no choice as to what they do. But I have arranged my affairs so that I use as little of their product as possible. I have a MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM with NY state government telling Coal FIRED power plants they must close. My electricity rates would almost certainly be lower if American Mined Coal, and Coal infrastructure, would continue to be used.
My confiscatory property taxes would CERTAINLY be lower since the former large coal electricity generator in my town was the HIGHEST PAYING TAXPAYER, and the company was glad to pay the taxes. But prohibiting any generation at all was the last straw.
As a practical matter, I am forced to use the utility’s product and policies AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT since it would be extremely hard to live in my home without using them at least a little bit.
This is a totally separate issue from going into a specific Store and purchasing a specific product. I am not forced to use ELECTRIFY AMERICA in California. If I was, I would simply go to any other vendor, or go to a EA station (there are only 10 that have congestion pricing).
TO show how crazy your type of thinking is, there are some conservative groups which, during a riot, want to set fire to all electric cars….. To show how UNAMERICAN this is, my cars are PRIVATE PROPERTY I have purchased myself, and any tax credits I have utilized is only LESS MONEY that the government has stolen from me in a particular tax year… I am taking no monies from other taxpayers.
I got sick of paying for everybody else through confiscatory taxes and legally reduced my taxable income so that the government, while still engaged in thievery against me, is somewhat smaller of a thief. They are losing tax revenue as a result but that is just too bad.
The idea of limiting charging to 85% is for the convenience of everyone else that may be wanting to use the charger. It’s that simple. It is also true that the company will stand to make more money, and then, hopefully, install more charging stations in different locations.
This is how the control starts, Sean. This is how it starts…
Ha ! Meanwhile you ignore the policies that the gov’t has implemented and don’t realize you have put the country far down the road to SERFDOM.
The fact that you want to CONTROL AND FORCE a private company to conform to your whims (when you don’t even own an electric car and probably never will) is frankly disgusting.
Where did say I want to control anything, Bill?
You’ve twisted it all to suit your argument, which at this point is a confused mess.
Somehow I’m trying to control a company vs them trying to control you? Where in the world did you pull this twist from? Geez.
I’ve answered your question fully. You still want to argue about trifles.
If you don’t like my answers get them from someone else.
MorrisAngelo:
I’ve never criticized big oil here…. Perhaps I should… I don’t like the Malarky ‘BIG OIL’ used to pull – trying to shut down smaller independent refineries.
I personally am not that happy with “Big Electricity”, as I’ve mentioned several times… To that end, I vote with my feet, so to speak –
1). When they tried raising rates, I installed 38 solar panels on my house. I was planning on using American Mined Coal to fuel my EVs, but my silly state essentially banned coal power. I get a trivial amount of it over the midnight hour from a neighboring state which doesn’t have such silliness. I build up a credit in the summertime and use this credit during the winter time, which turns out FOR THEM to be a very good deal, since I am powering my subdivision during the summer when electricity they purchase from me is much cheaper than extremely dear electricity they would have to purchase elsewhere during the hot months. They have to buy electricity for me during the winter months but it is a trivial expense for them.
2). Almost anything that requires heat in my home runs on Natural Gas from a competing company. They charge roughly 1/3 the cost compared to the electric utility for the same amount of heat. Therefore, even with 3 EVs, the MAJORITY of my energy usage in my home is Natural Gas, as I have 8 Gas Appliances, including a Gas-Fired large hot tub.
I get annoyed with people trying to squeeze a couple more drops of gas into the tank after a shutoff. The EV thing strikes me as the next road rage instigator. Oh, and to those who do try to squeeze every last drop into the tank. Don’t be surprised when your check engine light comes on because the fuel recovery system threw a code for gas in the evap canister.
None of my GM’s have ever had an issue with topping off.
“Charger Hog” drama, who knew?
The only drama I experience at the gas station are the New Green Deal price increases over the last 3 1/2 years 😊
No lines at gas stations.
Gasoline is much cheaper at the Indian Reservations in the area. There are lines occasionally at them, since they do not have to pay state taxes as they are considered an independent nation as far as petroleum products are concerned.
From ICE-ing to charger hogs to unthinkable Thanksgiving wait times, I can wait before I adopt this technology.
Gasoline cars just have to be constantly sold, for reasons I’ve delineated earlier…
Please don’t complain about transmission failures or engine seizures out of warranty too much please.
As I say EVs keep getting BETTER and BETTER – not because they are, but because ICE engines and transmissions from GM and FORD keep getting worse and worse. Sprinter, Honda, Hyundai and even TOYOTA are no where near as fine as they were historically.
You won’t get an argument out of me there. Transmissions and engines should not fail as often as they do.
And so it begins 🙂 LOL
LOL
Funny, I can go to any gas station and buy a 100% full tank of gas with no wait.
And do it in less than 10 minutes.
EV mania is so hypocritical! The so called green crap doesn’t tell you about the earth still being ripped open for precious minerals for batteries & the rape of our landscapes with ugly structures to supposedly make enough electricity! Birds don’t survive very well either with these meat grinders whirling in the sky! I hope these greenie commies don’t get very much more authority!
Sooo … the Range at 100% charge means nothing .
Btw, for you Karens, you can “top off” with gas in SECONDS .
… just saying.
That’s overstating the case…. Percentage wise this is a very tiny issue. Around me, due to the low popularity of EVs, charging stations are almost always available whereas the gas stations I mentioned are more than busy.
This is an excellent solution for those busy charge stations . The EV industry may have slowed , but it’s coming like it or not . I’m 74 and I embrace change .I still drive two ICE vehicles , but there is nothing wrong with the coming change to EV’s.for those who chose .
I understand the frustration with the EV world. But over the next few years better tech solutions will mean you’ll go 400-500 miles per 85% charge when you need to. And yeah, battery production right now adds pollution, but the battery tech will improve too. RIGHT NOW WE’RE IN A TECH TRANSITION PERIOD, WHICH ALWAYS TAKES AWHILE: Horse buggy to auto got a lot of early resistance too, until Henry Ford figured out how to build a $450 car for everyone. So once the tech and prices get more reasonable, maybe then the disappearing East Coast states will be able to move their flooded cities back to where they are now. Until then, 85% makes perfect sense for the reasons mentioned. I’ll stop and get a meal or coffee and chill.