CCS Fast Charging in Richmond, VA? Yeah... no.

By Zack Hurst, 2016 Chevy Spark EV

The state of the charging infrastructure isn't getting better... it's getting worse.

They say hindsight is 20/20. Maybe, I should've foreseen a day like this back at the end of last may when I bought this Chevy Spark EV. Maybe, I should have bought a car more suited to my driving habits? Maybe both.

My first experience with the CCS DC Fast Chargers in Richmond occurred when we were test buying our first Chevy Spark through Carvana. Never having charged an EV before, I was actually excited when I pulled up to the charger for the first time. I downloaded the appropriate app, created an account, and plugged in... but nothing happened. I tried again... nothing. I called the phone number on the charger and talked with the customer service person who walked me through a few test procedures  before I gave up.

On to the next closest DCFC. No luck. I had the same experience at the next two chargers, I assumed the car was broken (after all, how could FOUR chargers be broken??) and exchanged it with Carvana for a different Chevy Spark EV. I took the new car to a different charger and it worked! Later that week, I took the car I knew worked properly to the other chargers and confirmed that they were indeed broken. All 4 of them. Over the last 8 months I've learned to charge at only 2 or 3 fast chargers that work with my car in the area.

The state of CCS DC Fast Chargers in Richmond, VA

Then today happened.

With 8 miles of range left, I headed for a reliable DCFC closest to me that I last used a couple of days ago. Plugged in, and... nothing. It didn’t even recognize that I was plugged in. Crap. Ok, fine. Time to go to the only other conveniently located DCFC and use that one. However, it was 16mi away and I wouldn't be able to get there without using a LVL2 Charger in between. I get there, and there are plug-in hybrids in every stall, plugged in. Ok... off to the next LVL2. Now I have 2mi left.

Charged at 3.3kW (the max for the Chevy Spark EV) until I had enough range to get to the other working DCFC I use regularly.

I pulled up to see an electrician parked in the spot. I kindly asked if I could use the parking space to charge. “You’re not going to be able to do that, the charger is being serviced right now.” I had very little range left, but was able to plug into a wall outlet and use 110v (slowest way to charge) to get enough to go to the next closest DCFC.

Which... worked! So I'm plugged in and charging while writing this. And while relieved, I find that I'm VERY frustrated with this experience. Granted, most people wouldn't have this kind of problem... why? Well, most people don't drive more than 120mi in a day (on average) with a car that has a 82mi EPA rated range. Most people don't drive more than 40mi a day. 

So I definitely have the WRONG CAR for my driving habits, but I still feel like there should be something done about the failing infrastructure in the area.

Many of the broken DCFC have been down for months, or even more than a year. When this happens, where else can we go to get these precious electrons in a timely manner? While EV Resource is planning on building out the LVL2 charging network (because that too is severely lacking), I'm starting to think we should look at DCFC too.

​End rant.