Gabe Shenhar, Associate Director of the Auto Test Program for Consumer Reports, to Speak to Club

Gabe will review the results of recent Consumer Reports testing for the following vehicles:

• Mercedes EQE SUV
• Genesis GV60
• Cadillac Lyriq
• Acura ZDX
• Lexus RZ
• Chevy Equinox EV
• Tesla Cybertruck
• Volvo XC60 (PHEV)

Date: Tuesday, December 3rd

Time: 7 – 8:30 PM

We have booked a somewhat long meeting due to the number of vehicles we are covering. There will be time for Q&A.

Free registration is required here.

Absence of Software Could Cause a Failure to Regulate Current

We’re not trying to be alarmist but we are trying to help spread the word of a potentially serious safety situation.

Abrupt Departure

Enel X Way, the manufacturer of JuiceBox EV charging equipment, made an announcement on October 2nd that was shocking in its abruptness. The company said it was pulling out of North America as of October 11th. As far as we know, there was no advance warning given to commercial or residential customers, or to utilities that include this equipment in managed charging programs. That was the case locally with Eversource and UI, which have been trying to find a path forward.

Without the software, the commercial units do not work. Initial reports were that residential equipment could be used as a “dumb” charger,” meaning there would be no app functionality or connectivity and, unless a workaround were developed, customer enrollments in managed charging programs with this equipment would be terminated. That has probably happened at this point.

Inability to Control Amperage

Consumer Reports sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission in October, which was co-signed by 65 JuiceBox owners. Among the lengthy list of issues they raise, two in particular stand out. First, absent the software, there could be the loss of “potentially critical‬ functionality that allows them to adjust the amperage coming into the car from the charger. This‬ means that consumers who are unable to adjust their settings before the October 11 deadline‬ could see their chargers push too much amperage into the vehicle, potentially damaging the‬ EV’s battery, shorting out their breaker box, and posing a risk of fire.‬”

Uncertain Path Forward

Since the initial announcement, it has been reported, for example here, that‭ the company has hired B. Riley Advisory Services to organize a managed liquidation and auction of its assets with an eye to maintaining functionality. This may be more difficult than it sounds. Enel X does not embed the Open Charge Point Protocol into its equipment in a way that makes it straightforward to migrate to another company’s platform. So, a hoped for short-term bridge solution is probably not in the cards.

That leads to the second serious issue which is, again according to Consumer Reports, there is a security flaw in the software that can expose a user’s WiFi credentials. This is from the chip and firmware used in the equipment made by Silicon Labs, and there are no plans to update it. From the perspective of the utilities, even if the equipment comes back on line, this security flaw could represent potential exposure. If the equipment does come back online, it is not likely to be able to be re-enrolled in managed charging. These products have been removed from the qualified products list (QPL) by both Eversource and UI.

Consumer Reports characterizes the company’s behavior as “egregious,” and notes that these level 2 chargers cost about $600 (residential) to as much as $1600 (commercial).

For managed charging, the quickest way to get back online is to re-enroll using telematics if you have an eligible vehicle. Regardless of managed charging participation, the safest route forward is to replace the charger. Unfortunately, it is not permitted for the utilities to give another incentive. The program design does not include eventualities for companies that bug-out.

The Consumer Reports letter concludes by asking the Federal Trade Commission to take action to protect consumers on the basis that this constitutes a deceptive or unfair business practice.

Ribbon Cutting, Featuring Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons

With approximately 20,000 registered Teslas in CT and only one service center, this additional coverage will be welcomed by Tesla owners.

The new service center, located at 106 Commerce Road in Stamford, near the border with Old Greenwich, is a service and leasing center like the facility in Milford. There is a showroom. Leasing paperwork can be completed. And test drives can be arranged. There can be no discussion of costs, financing or anything else that falls under the label of “sales,” as the franchise laws prohibit this and prevent Tesla from opening stores.

For leased vehicles, even though the paperwork can be completed in Stamford or Milford, vehicle delivery must occur at Mohegan Sun or Mt. Kisco, NY. (Where the delivery occurs is generally not up to the customer.) For customers leasing or purchasing a car from inventory, a lot of that inventory locally is stored at Mt. Kisco. The delivery experience between the two locales differs in that a vehicle delivered at Mohegan Sun will be registered in CT, whereas a Mt. Kisco delivery will come with a temporary NY registration and temp plates. Tesla will then transfer the registration to CT.

A welcome announcement came from Mayor Simmons when she revealed that the city will be converting its fleet to electric. And the project to install 12 dual-port, level 2 chargers in Government Center Garage will be moving forward.

As welcome as this is, we (and Tesla) know that the greater Hartford area is the biggest remaining need. The facility under construction in Springfield, MA, expected to open next year, will partially help.

EV Test Drives, Showcase, and Symposium on September 15th and 16th

We would like to thank everyone who joined us for the NorthEast Electric Vehicle Symposium (NEEVS).

Sunday attendance was approximately 250 for the EV showcase, test drives, and sage on a stage presentations. About 200 test drives were given. Another 80 or so joined us on Monday for the presentations.

Thank you to our sponsors for generously supporting this event:

Gold Sponsor: BMW

Silver Sponsors: Live Green CT, EVNoire, West Electric, Eastern Mechanical Services

Bronze Sponsors: New Haven Clean Cities, Leifer Properties, Ikea, Inductive Autoworks, Earthlight Energy Solutions, Capitol Area Clean Cities, Connecticut Green Bank, Flux Marine, Tecknow, Alfa Romeo of Westport, Hotel Marcel, Ikea, Conservation Law Foundation, Pirelli and Susan Vanech Properties/Compass Coastal.

Photos from the Event:

Labels: Row 1 – Daphne Dixon, Claire Abate of Live Green CT; Alpha Romero Tonale, Rich Jordan of CT Tesla Club with attendee

Row 2 – Bryce Jones of Pirelli Tires; BMW iX, i5, i4 for test drives; Phil Levieff, Analiese Mione, Dawn Henry, Demetri Spantidos, Daphne Dixon, Barry Kresch

Row 3 – Rivian E-Van, Battle EV Garbage Truck, Analiese Mione, Brandon Smith

Row 4 – Flux Marine e-boat, EV Club booth, Westport Police with Tesla Model 3 and Y patrol cars

Row 5 – Jon Untied of Inductive Auto, Tesla Cybertruck ready for tailgating with TV and cold drinks, Barry Kresch and Charles Rothenberger of Save the Sound

Row 6 – EV truck from Battle; Panelists Mike Ferrell, Sharon Huttner, Mike Frisbie, Stephan Hartmann, Iline Mirkine; Daphne Dixon

Row 7 – PURA Chair Marissa Gillett, New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, Team Earthlight

Row 8 – Brandon Smith; Flux Marine, Dawn Henry, Demetri Spantidos, Bruce Becker

Row 9 – Paul Braren, Rivian R1S, Maxwell e-shuttle

Idling Fees Waived for Overnight Charging at Baldwin

The EV charging stations located in the Baldwin lot in downtown Westport, installed a year ago, have a fee of $.35 per kWh. However, this is a timed lot, and for any EV sitting at a charger longer than the 3-hour limit, an idling fee is charged following a 15-minute grace period. It is $10/hour, charged in 15 minute increments.

These are 80-amp level 2 chargers. While an EV can get a fair amount of charge (depending on the speed enabled by the vehicle’s onboard charger) in 3 hours, it isn’t enough time to fully charge from a near depleted state. We have heard from some folks who live near downtown and do not have charging at home who would like to use these for longer than the current limit.

That is now being enabled by the town. We don’t have all the details yet concerning specific hours and when the network vendor, EVConnect, will have it enabled, but the idling fees are being waived for overnight parking. The standard per kWh rate still applies. This will help nearby EV owners to charge and will mean additional utilization/more revenue for the town.

Also, there are no idling fees for the chargers in the Metro-North commuter lots.

We applaud the town for taking this step and will update with more specifics as we learn of them.

Allowing overnight charging at public chargers can reduce charging anxiety, generally speaking. It is a particularly great approach if situated near multi-family housing where available charging options may be limited.

Changes to Battery Rules and Used EV Supply

2025 will bring a large increase in the supply of eligible used EVs and new restrictions on battery critical minerals and component manufacturing..

Changes in Battery Sourcing Rules

Each year, the law requires a step-up in the minimum source-compliant rules for batteries.

• The percentage of critical minerals sourced either domestically or from a free-trade partner increases from 50% to 60%.
• The battery-module manufacturing requirement remains at 60% from North America.
• IRS loosened rules around the sourcing of graphite to take effect in 2025.
• Foreign entity of concern rules now apply to battery assembly as well as critical mineral sourcing. That means that for the 40% that does not have to come eligible sources, none can come from any entity deemed a FEOC. Of course, this is mainly China, but applies to some other places as well.

Many vehicles lost eligibility in 2024 as the requirements became more stringent and the first part of the FEOC kicked-in. On the other hand, the industry is grateful for the recent flexibility on graphite, an area in which China is even more dominant.

The OEMs are working hard to wrangle their supply chains to become compliant. We expect a gradual increase in eligible vehicles as new plants open in North America.

The above rules apply only to consumer purchases. They do not apply for leases or commercial purchases. On the basis of a controversial IRS ruling, these vehicles are not required to comply with the consumer purchase rules. It has driven skyrocketing increases in the rate of EV leases. According to Kelly Blue Book, leases now account for almost half of new EV sales and have surpassed financing as the preferred method for acquiring a new EV.

Used EV Incentive

This is one area where there will be a significant change for the better. Despite the gloom and doom reporting, EV sales are growing. In CT, EVs represented 10.4% of all new vehicle sales in Q2 of this year, according to CT DEEP. The July Connecticut DMV registration data show that EV registrations increased by 45% year on year, on top of a similar increase the year before.

What that means is that increasing numbers of EVs are eligible for the used incentive. The rule regarding vehicle age is that the model year of the vehicle must be at least 2 years older than the current calendar year. So, as of January, all of the 2023 EVs become eligible. Every year, the pool will increase.

There are lots of other rules around new and used EVs. See our Incentives page for a full description.

Tesla Cybertruck Test Drives Now Available

The drives are being offered at Tesla’s Service and Leasing center in Milford. This is the Tesla page to book a test drive for any of their models.

This follows the first Cybertruck test drives offered in the state at our NorthEast Electric Vehicle Symposium last month. As the 75 or so people who drove the CT that day can attest, the handling is amazingly nimble for a vehicle of this size.

We expect test drives to be available in the new Stamford facility as well.

More EV Pickups Being Introduced

It is a category that has seen an increasing number of entrants from the likes of Rivian, Ford, Chevrolet and GMC. Numerous sources have reported that Cybertruck has overtaken the Ford F150 Lightning as the best selling electric pickup in second quarter. It is hard to tell exactly what the sales are because Tesla does not break out individual models. Their “other vehicles” category, which includes the Model S and X, accounted for 21,551 sales according to Inside EVs, which speculates, using indirect data such as recalls, that Tesla produced roughly 12,000 trucks, compared to 7902 for the Lightning. There are other reasons why the comparison is rough. For one thing, a sale for Ford is when the dealership takes title to the vehicle, whereas with Tesla, it is when the consumer receives it. Most of these pickup models are quite new and some have been supply-constrained.

Configurations and Incentives

Tesla has stopped taking orders for the Foundation series and the configurator shows the All-Wheel Drive ($79,990) and Cyberbeast ($103,490).

The AWD starts at a low enough price that it squeaks by for the federal incentive if no options are ordered. The incentive MSRP cap is $80,000 for a pickup. There is also an income limitation of $300,000 for joint filers, which may be an issue for someone who can afford $80K for a vehicle. Anyway, that is moot for the time being. The configurator does not indicate that the vehicle qualifies. Tesla is usually very good at maximizing incentives, so it wouldn’t surprise us if things will change; we just don’t know when.

Leases and commercial transactions do qualify for the federal $7500 incentive as those are not subject to the rules for consumer purchases.

Enel X to Continue to Support Chargers…For Now

We have published a previous post and updates following the announcement from Enel X, maker of JuiceBox chargers, of their abrupt withdrawal from the North American market. The original announcement was that while the chargers would work, the software would no longer be available. Not only would that negate the smart charger functionality of the equipment, these units were approved for the charging incentives offered by Eversource and UI and they would no longer be able to track compliance with the managed charging program. Commercial chargers would be completely dead without the software.

Subsequent to the initial announcement, Enel X said they would continue to support the software for both residential and commercial for the time being. Per UI, Enel plans to auction off their North American business to a third party.

Still Solving for Managed Charging

Having some interim software support for the chargers does not equate to the utilities being able to track the data they need. UI reports that at present it has lost visibility and that  its back-end provider is working on a solution with Enel. This may take a couple of weeks. At that point, they expect to be back in business until at least the end of the year. This prospective solution may work beyond that but that is still tbd at this time.

UI and Eversource have different back-end providers, so it is not a given that there is a solution in the offing for Eversource. We have not received an update from them.

Vehicle Connection (Telematics)

If your vehicle is able to enroll via telematics, both utilities recommend going that route. For your viewing pleasure, below is a list of every eligible telematics vehicle. The list is not identical for Eversource and UI.

An Example of How Distributed Resources Create Resilience

A club-member received this text message from a friend who lives in Stuart, FL, a city on the eastern coast of the state where Hurricane Milton came through as a category 1 storm after spawning tornadoes. It is a good illustration of how EVs and distributed energy resources can contribute to resilience.

“Thanks for checking in.  Our home is fine…survived beautifully….never lost power thanks to Tesla Powerwalls.   The rest of the community and county had some major power issues.   Tornado touched down about 3 blocks away, no injuries, just more  power outages in the area. Also, some trees down and turned over a semi-truck.  Hospital (family run Vet hospital) lost power around midnight, but I powered it from the Cybertruck until the power came back around 2pm this afternoon.   At home, we had trimmed all the trees earlier this week,  so only a few branches down.  That’s about it.   Nothing like North Carolina.”

Enel X Way, Maker of JuiceBox EV Chargers That Are Part of the CT EV Charging Incentive Program, Shutting Down in North America

Update Oct. 13 – Enel X has apparently found a workaround and software service will not be disrupted. (Customer service for the hardware is offline.) This is an article in Electrek with more detail. Based on this, participants in the managed charging programs should be able to continue. We have had several members send us communications from Enel X or the utilities. Please keep us updated.

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Enel had previously announced big plans for a USA and Canada charging network, including installing 10,000 DCFC chargers by 2030. Now they are closing it down, though they are a huge company that remains in business in many other countries.

According to a statement posted on the JuiceBox website:

“After careful consideration, Enel X Way North America has decided to close its electric mobility business in the US and Canada, operated by the local subsidiary of Enel X Way USA, effective October 11, 2024.”

This is what they say about how it affects customers:

• Residential charging hardware (JuiceBox) will maintain the physical operating ability to charge vehicles, but that is it. (In other words, they become dumb chargers.)
• All Enel X Way software will be discontinued. Commercial charging stations will no longer work absent software.
• The Enel X Way App and all other Enel e-mobility apps in North America will be discontinued and removed from the App Store.
• Enel X Way customer support is no longer available, effective immediately. Any Enel X Way related questions and claims should be directed in the coming days to the claims information page (available soon). (The emphasis is theirs.)

The entire website, except for this one status page has been taken offline.

Impact on Managed Charging Incentives

There are Juicebox chargers that are approved equipment for EV charging incentives offered through Eversource and United Illuminating. Without software support, it will not be possible for the consumer to schedule charging nor for the utility to track it. The utilities were not given advance notice of the Enel decision.

We have been forwarded a few emails from members that were sent from Eversource and Enel X. Enel X is reporting that they are working to transition to the software of a third party. It sounds like they have made progress and there may be no interruption in service.

The emails we have seen from Eversource haven’t yet mentioned this. It may well be coming. But at this point, they suggest that if a vehicle is eligible for telematics, the customer can re-enroll and continue that way. Otherwise, they will be paid out through September and no longer part of the program. There is also the opportunity to subsequently re-enroll if the charger is replaced with an approved unit.

GM vehicles, which are not on the Eversource list of eligible telematics vehicles, are apparently able to connect through OnStar, which may require a paid subscription. GM vehicles are on the list of UI telematics vehicles.