Open Letter to Coulomb Technologies

Aren't the rates set by the owner of the charger i.e. the City of Richardson rather than by ChargePoint?

http://www.chargepoint.net/faq.php

 

Yup, the owners choose.

I've seen a variety of ChargePoint stations around here, each offering different pricing.

The price I like is $3 per 8-hour session. That's reasonable in my mind.

$2.49 per hour is the most expensive around here. I'm not willing to pay a rate like that on anything other than a very special occasion.
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It seems fair. Payback for residential solar, 35-40 years. Payback for commercial charging stations = < one year!

 

At the ChargePoint Network's Find Stations link (which URL I'm not allowed to post) you can search for only those stations whose owners have set a pricing level you like, are reservable, etc.

 

Station owners set the pricing on ChargePoint stations. Many are free, many are expensive. We are interested in perspectives of what is a reasonable price because station owners ask us for recommendations. Please let us know.

BTW, I used to drive a Prius with a Hymotion EV plug-in conversion but now have a Volt and an Active E.

Richard
Founder and Chief Technical Officer, Coulomb Technologies

 

The commercial stations are quite expensive to install. They're probably just trying to recoup some of the expense.

 

I gather if I run of out petrol, I can call a tow truck for a couple gallons, but it costs $80. Charging $40/gallon is Highway robbery!

 

Over time, the market dynamics converge to a pricing structure based on what people are willing to pay. Surely you folks at Coulomb have data already from which inferences can be made regarding optimal fee structure based on charger type, current fee structure and location?

For all the money that people waste on ATM fees for the convenience of hitting the nearest terminal, or paying for coffee or bottled water while out and about when it is virtually free at home, I think it is reasonable to charge a connect fee + a cost per kWh used. Clearly, users should not expect to pay a cost per kWh that is as low as their rate at home. While the altruistic argument can be made that charging stations are provided in order to make the world a better place, they are primarily a convenience for the end user and should not be free.

The Plug-In Prius is problematic from the commercial charging station standpoint, as a charge based solely on kWh usage is not likely to result in a profit. The connect fee helps to cover the nuisance value tying up the station for a few hours at a very low output.

The main question is, what's reasonable? How about $1 for the connect fee and then a cost per kWh that is maybe 5 cents over the home rate? A full charge works out to around $1.60 in that case. How can one bitch about paying $1.60 to charge their PIP when that is less than the cost of a small coffee at Starbucks?

 

1 hour of charging will give you 10 miles of range.
If 1 hour of charging costs 2 US$, how much does it cost to drive 10 miles on gasoline?

At 50mpg, that's 0.2 gallons, at 4$/gallon, that's less than 1US$.

So, from money point of view, it's cheaper to drive on gas than to recharge at such an expensive charging point.

 

There are a few level 2 ChargePoint EVSEs at my work (Stanford Hospital/University) that run at $3/hour. So, a full charge for 1.5 hours would run me $4.5 and take me 15 miles (optimistically). For the same price I can get a gallon of gas that'll take me almost four times that distance. It's a no brainer to not charge at work.

On a positive note, the Stanford Shopping mall about a half mile away offers two free level 2 ChargePoint EVSEs. Upfront parking at a very busy shopping center is also perk

 

How much would a cup of coffee at Starbucks cost if they sold say two cups a day at a branch and wanted to stay open (that is to say, profitable?)

Do rational people walk into a Starbucks and complain that the price is multiples more than what they pay at home, or expect the cost of 23 beans from a bag of beans at Costco (+ 10% for profit, naturally)?

"Fair" and "reasonable" pricing are oxymorons.

I'm sad to say that early adopters of EVs feel entitiled to public charging subsidy. They may be right, but the correct forum is the legislature, not nasty letters to Coulomb tech.

 

Personally, I'd rather have everyone charge at night at home when the power utilities are underused. The PiP battery is so small that public charging stations will have a hard time to recoup their cost of installation.
If I have to pay more than 15 cents/KWH, I'll just charge at home. I'm not willing to pay extra to charge a 4KWH battery.

 

Personally, I'd rather have everyone charge at night at home when the power utilities are underused. The PiP battery is so small that public charging stations will have a hard time to recoup their cost of installation.
If I have to pay more than 15 cents/KWH, I'll just charge at home. I'm not willing to pay extra to charge a 4KWH battery.

 

There's a difficult dynamic here. The most common plug-in vehicle for the foreseeable future is going to be the Prius, with it's small charging requirement. As a charging station owner (if I were one) I'd want a decent per-transaction fee to make it worth my while. On the other hand, a Prius doesn't take all that much electricity per use.

What's being charged for is access, convenience. Sagebrush is right with his coffee example, although I'd use McDonald's instead of Starbucks as what you're getting isn't premium, it's just regular. You pay a buck for a coffee at a 7-11 because you don't want to be bothered making it, you want it right then not five or ten minutes from now, and you're willing a little for that service. The cost of the materials (whether coffee or power) is only a small part of what you're paying for.

 

how much it costs a charging station like that?

 

It's the initial wiring, not the station itself.

Where I park, the intent was to offer an entire section for charging at some point. That required an expensive investment for the first two units, but will cost far less to add more later.

The owner doesn't expect to actually make money directly from the charging either. But since it's in a ramp, drawing business that would have otherwise went to competitors is a plus for him.
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Jim, you should consider that city bureaucrats set the rate for that charging station. Possibly the reason that it is set that way is to cover costs in the case of a Volt or Leaf plugging in. For those owners, they would be paying 25 cents per kWh, which isn't great, but again, you have to ask just how much should a government entity be subsidizing the convenience for a select few?

I think we would all be interested in hearing the outcome of a discussion that you would have with the city officials in charge of setting the rate. It is possible that they only need some education. For example, would a 25 cent per kWh, $2 minimum, fee structure be something that you would be willing to pay? Maybe if you suggest that, it will be taken seriously, since that is exactly how it is set in the case of a Volt or a Leaf. The city probably has a mandate for the chargers to break even or make money, and they certainly don't want them sitting idle.