As the electric vehicle (EV) revolution gains traction amid allegations of unfair competition from government-subsidized Chinese manufacturers, a new hurdle on American highways emerges: how to handle the rising demand for charging stations.
One of the top charging networks in the nation, Electrify America, has launched a trial program in Southern California so as to address the problem head-on. The objective? To compel drivers to either pay a fine for loitering or charge up, move on, and make place for the next motorist.
The program is a direct reaction to the growing traffic at EV charging stations, which has become worse as more Americans buy electric vehicles. The CEO of Electrify America, Robert Barrosa, claims that some drivers have been hogging the charging stations by staying plugged in longer than required due to the lack of accessible plugs. Barrosa observed in a CNN interview that drivers frequently want to “fill all the way,” even though it may not be required.
The trial initiative, which is presently being implemented at ten busy stations in Southern California, interrupts the charging process when a car’s battery reaches 85% of its full capacity. After that, drivers are given ten minutes to unplug – or they will be charged an extra 40 cents every minute until they leave the charging place.
Not everyone thinks this regulation will make a big difference. According to Joel Levin, executive director of Plug in America, the majority of drivers only charge their cars to 85% of their capacity. “I don’t think that this rule is going to make a huge difference, because most people don’t charge above 85%,” Levin told Fortune. “This will maybe affect a little bit on the margin, but I don’t think it’s an unreasonable rule and it’ll only affect a handful of people.” It is less practicable for drivers to wait for a complete charge, he pointed out, because fast chargers, also called Level 3 chargers, inherently scale down the charging rate after 80% to preserve the battery from harm.
For the increasing number of EV drivers, traffic at charging stations is becoming more than just a minor annoyance. Although the average usage rate of non-Tesla fast-charging stations in the United States quadrupled to 18% in December 2023, according to data from San Francisco-based firm Stable Auto, about 80% of charging activity is concentrated at just 30% of stations. The unequal allocation of demand has resulted in congested stations and has even begun to discourage certain drivers from utilizing them at all.
Is Electrify America’s approach the right solution, or is it just a temporary fix? According to Brendan Jones, CEO of Blink Charging Co., a station may begin to lose consumers when its usage rate reaches 30%. In that case, users may choose to go to less busy locations.
The larger issue, though, is the general dearth of charging infrastructure in the United States, which has posed a significant barrier to the widespread adoption of EVs. As of March 2024, just 38 EV charging stations were operational, despite the federal government having allocated $7.5 billion for EV infrastructure, according to The Washington Post. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory believes the United States needs 28 million charging ports by 2030, significantly more than the 183,000 public ports that were accessible as of May.
