If you own an EV and live in an area with tons of other EV drivers, charging can be a real pain. Finding an open charger has become a frustrating part of life for many people in those places, but Electrify America thinks it has a solution. The company is piloting a congestion reduction plan that would limit drivers’ ability to charge.
The program caps charging at 85 percent, which should prevent drivers from camping at chargers while they wait for the sometimes extended periods it takes to reach a full charge. Many new EVs can quickly reach the 80 percent mark, but charging speeds fall off significantly after that benchmark.
Electrify America’s plan stops the charge and gives drivers a ten-minute grace period before they see idle fees. The company is only running the pilot at locations it feels are not ones people would use on road trips when reaching a 100 percent charge is often necessary to travel between charging stations.
This change will likely be a bummer for some people, as range anxiety is still a real thing. At the same time, the only way EVs will become a viable option is if drivers can readily find and use charging stations. Charger reliability is another issue altogether, and it’s a challenge Electrify America hasn’t yet overcome. The company’s chargers are often inoperable or inexplicably offline, leaving drivers with fewer options at its locations.
[Images: Kia, Around the World Media via Shutterstock]
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