Godot Is Soon To Arrive

This is the level 3 version of a post about out-of-service level 2 chargers from April 21st.

Level 3 chargers have been sitting lonely, forlornly, and non-functionally at several of the service areas on our major highways. And its been that way for roughly 4 years. We now have the background and going forward plans. This post refers to the non-Tesla chargers.

The chargers at the service centers we are aware of, specifically the I-95 service center in Darien and the Merritt Parkway northbound service center in Greenwich, were originally installed by Eversource/DEEP working with the Department of Transportation in 2016. They have been out of service (“decommissioned”) since 2018. I’m sure there is detail we don’t know since those chargers were barely ever operational.

New Level 3 Fast Charger Installations

The state leases the service centers to a company called Project Service, LLC, based in New Haven, which also manages them. PS responded to our inquiry, saying that they are working with a new partner to install new DCFC equipment at their plazas. There are 6 sites where work is underway and installation is expected to be complete sometime during this summer. The 6 service areas are I-95 Fairfield (both directions), I-95 Madison (both directions), Merritt Parkway New Canaan (southbound), and Merritt Parkway Greenwich (northbound).

There are also Tesla chargers at PS service centers. These have been operational and are in the process of being upgraded.

DOT Survey

A larger, separate initiative, deploying the funding that is coming from the federal infrastructure legislation is being managed by the Department of Transportation and is in the planning stages. These funds are going to support level 3 chargers along major highway corridors. Public input is being sought as plans are further developed. There is currently a survey live on their website here. (It is a very high-level survey that takes 2 minutes.) The link will remain live through June 3rd.

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.