If You See Something, Say Something

EVSE Out of Order

I just hate when I see signs like the one in the above photo. I refer to the spelling, but yeah, that, too.

Maintenance of charging stations can be a mixed bag. It seems like funding is obtained to acquire chargers without budgeting for future maintenance.

The charger in the photograph is one of two installed in downtown Westport at the Tri-Town Teachers Credit Union (TTTCU). Both are down. As far as I can tell, based on app check-ins, they’ve been out of service for roughly two months. These level 2 chargers were paid for by Karl Chevrolet of New Canaan in return for signage, a tasteful wooden sign, and for taking the tax credit for the solar array on the TTTCU building (TTTCU is a non-profit).

We reached out to the TTTCU and they report that the company that made the chargers is out of business and they have enlisted the town to help find someone who can service them, if they are repairable. When we have more news, we will update.

The chargers at the nearby Westport library have also been down, literally. It looks like there was a close encounter of the first kind. They, too have been out for a while. (Update to this: The town is going to buy new equipment for this location; we’ll update again when we have an ETA.)

This happens at way too many places. It is a contributor to “range anxiety” among prospective EV adopters. Which brings us to the call to action. Many of us use apps to locate chargers. For those of you who use Plugshare or other popular apps that allow check-ins and comments, please make an effort to call out when you see a broken charger. Even if you aren’t in need of a charge, pay a visit to the ones that are local to you and do a check-in. The more data for other EV drivers, the better. And the more visibility, the better the chances of motivating the owner to make a repair.