One of the more interesting dilemmas facing the Town of Easton is what to do with the existing charging stations for EV cars near downtown. With the original two-year agreement coming to an end with Easton Utilities, in which the community-owned utilities would cover the costs of those wishing to plug their cars, coming to a close, the town is now faced with a choice to continue to provide this service for free or reconfigure the existing stations for point of sale transactions.
Mayor Megan Cook briefed the Town Council last night on the status of those stations and heard feedback from Rev. Elmer Davis, Council Member for Ward 4, on his concerns moving forward. The Mayor will report back to the Council after carefully studying possible options.
Margot Miller says
These chargers should be contracted to one of the multiple providers, Electrify America, EvGo, PlugShare, ChargePoint,ChargeHUb, provided they put in FAST Chargers, the level 3 chargers that can charge from 10% to 80% in 20 minutes. Easton has NO non-Tesla fast chargers.
Lyn Banghart says
100 % agree!!! Thank you.
Craig Fuller says
This is an interesting issue. Two years ago, offering a charging station at no cost seemed public spirited and supportive of those seeking to rely on something other than fossil fuel to power a vehicle.
First thing I hope the Mayor finds out is how frequently the stations are used now.
As an EV owner, these low powered charging stations offer very little. It takes hours to get a charge equivalent of what is available from the rapid charging stations. Hence, driving 20 minutes and charging for 20 minutes saves hours.
The world has kind of moved on. Today’s more rapid charging stations are offered to organizations in ways where The Town could actually make money. And, a rapid charging station would make the Town a more popular destination, allowing people to shop and dine while the car recharges for the trip home.
Oh, and those of us with EVs are not looking for a free ride…we pay at the pump for electrons all the time. And, if we charge at home (which almost all owner do) we pay home energy bills.
Giving up the old “free” chargers should provide a moment to get Easton on the leading edge when it comes to providing power to electric vehicle enthusiasts!
Lyn Banghart says
Totally agree with you, Mr. Fuller. As EV owners we are happy to pay for a rapid charging station. Most EV owners are!
Al DiCenso says
Why on earth should EV owners get free recharges? Do you furnish IC owners free gas? You are already furnishing EV owners free use of streets, highways and other infrastructure, and at my expense!
Enough is enough already with the damn freebies; everyone should pay their way regardless of type of vehicle owned!
Philip Paul says
If the city decides to continue to waive the recharging cost for electric vehicles then it should determine the average cost waived and credit every petroleum burning vehicle owner the equivalent amount toward their fuel cost. There should be no “free rides” for those who can afford the EVs, which are considerably more expensive than petroleum burning vehicles. The number crunchers of the city can figure out how to do this!
Michele La Rocca says
Of course they should charge them or give me free gas. These EVs are not without environmental consequences and all of our insurance rates are getting jacked up because of them. If you are hit by them, the weight load from the battery is so high that your car will suffer greater damage than a gas fueled car and you will suffer greater physical injury as well.
Ted Peterson says
Using the Easton Utilities chargers is certainly a gift and convenience to those of us with EV’s who work downtown. Thank you!
There are however, abusers of the 3-hour limit. Perhaps the traffic enforcement officer(s) could add the 4-units to their route and give parking tickets to those who exceed 3-hours. Or even limit charging to 2-hours. The charging units are used and busy, and the increase in EVs in The County will drive more usage in the near future.
Likely the solution will be “pay to use” commercial fast chargers. However, Easton Utilities providing the units certainly reinforces Easton’s high marks for exceptional city infrastructure vs other communities in Maryland.
Wilson Dean says
Many comments so far on this issue strongly promote the idea of EV drivers “paying their own way.” I am all for that, so long as gasoline using vehicle owners do the same. Some pretty straightforward calculations suggest that gas users should be paying a health tax on their cars for the deadly NOx emissions spewing from their cars that send people running to the hospital to deal with respiratory problems. Moreover, they should also be paying a carbon tax on their CO2 emissions that contribute to more frequent and violent storms as well as rising water levels that threaten so many communities in this area. All this shouldn’t add more than $1.50-$2.00 or so to a gallon of gasoline, but in the interest of everyone paying their fair share, who can really complain?
Louisa Griffin says
As an EV owner, I charge at home. My commute to Easton doesn’t come close to depleting my charge. I’m not sure who is using the charger – hopefully only out of towners who didn’t plan properly. There are plenty of fast chargers in the vicinity and I know my car tells me where and if I need to go there.
I think whomever is using these slow chargers is taking advantage of the no-charge, when owning an EV implicitly includes the additional cost of setting up your own at-home charging station. These town chargers should be a perk for town visitors, not a freebie for townies. Since there is no way to regulate that, I’d suggest charging for the charging, making them high speed if possible, and somehow work out a voucher program with local inns and b&b’s to underwrite the visitors costs. Visitors pay plenty in accommodation taxes – that town revenue could easily accommodate underwriting guest charges.
Craig Fuller says
To understand the art of the possible, visit Vienna, MD (population 270) just south of Cambridge. They have two attractive EV charges and I believe the Town of Vienna is earning revenue while providing fast charging next to a wonderful pie shop! Photo link: https://clf1.info/ViennaMDEV
Chuck Englehart says
Hello Mayor Cook. I’d like to congratulate you on your election to mayor and bringing what I believe is a more erudite and fresh perspective to the office and its commission.
I watched the video of your briefing of the town council this morning and as a retired technical profession, and EV owner, wanted to put in my two cents. I think this issue with the Level 2 chargers might be viewed as an opportunity, at least for an interim solution. To recover some of the costs one of the things that can be considered while waiting for migration to Point-of-Sale capability, could involve simply metering the parking spots appropriately (forgive me if this has already been considered). A minor collusive effort between Easton Utility’s engineering and IT should be able to configure more advanced parking meters in combination with the existing Level 2 chargers such that they would only become active as long as the parking meter is sated. The expense of using these parking spots would of course be considerably more expensive which would serve to offset costs and preclude them being occupied by non-EV’s, or EV’s with no intention to charge (appropriate fines would further discourage misuse). Since we’re only talking about 3 or 4 parking spots I don’t believe the town’s parking issues will be strained or compromised in any way.
Simple, effective and cheap this might offer a more cost-effective option than the installation of very expensive Point-of-Sale units, especially if providing only Level 2 service. Non-Tesla Point-of-Sale units to date have been notoriously problematic. The Tesla chargers on Rt. 50 are expected to allow DC Fast Charging (DCFC) for non-Tesla EV’s in the near future anyway.
Upgrading the existing Level 2 chargers, which I believe are presently limited to 6.6kW, to allow 11.5kW Level 2 charging (for EV’s capable of exploiting it), would mitigate some of the need for DCFC while allowing much of the existing infrastructure to remain in place. Most EV owners understand that public Level 2 charging was never intended to replace more comprehensive charging needs otherwise supplied at home or provided by public DCFC.
I mention these options as interim solutions only with the understanding that Easton has no plans to upgrade these Level 2 chargers to DCFC. DCFC with Point-of-Sale capability would be the preferable option but I fear the expense will discourage its implementation. Considering that these downtown charging stations were originally intended simply to encourage out-of-town EV owners to patronize local shopping, IMHO, a simple and cost-effective metering solution with the existing Level 2 charging stations upgraded to 11.5kW would satisfy most of these EV owners especially since newer EV’s are coming equipped to handle 11.5kW or higher Level 2 charging. Again, just an interim idea.
Chuck Englehart says
I watched the video of your briefing of the town council this morning and as a retired technical profession, and EV owner, wanted to put in my two cents. I think this issue with the Level 2 chargers might be viewed as an opportunity, at least for an interim solution. To recover some of the costs one of the things that can be considered while waiting for migration to Point-of-Sale capability, could involve simply metering the parking spots appropriately (forgive me if this has already been considered). A minor collusive effort between Easton Utility’s engineering and IT should be able to configure more advanced parking meters in combination with the existing Level 2 chargers such that they would only become active as long as the parking meter is sated. The expense of using these parking spots would of course be considerably more expensive which would serve to offset costs and preclude them being occupied by non-EV’s, or EV’s with no intention to charge (appropriate fines would further discourage misuse). Since we’re only talking about 3 or 4 parking spots I don’t believe the town’s parking issues will be strained or compromised in any way.
Simple, effective and cheap this might offer a more cost-effective option than the installation of very expensive Point-of-Sale units, especially if providing only Level 2 service. Non-Tesla Point-of-Sale units to date have been notoriously problematic. The Tesla chargers on Rt. 50 are expected to allow DC Fast Charging (DCFC) for non-Tesla EV’s in the near future anyway.
Upgrading the existing Level 2 chargers, which I believe are presently limited to 6.6kW, to allow 11.5kW Level 2 charging (for EV’s capable of exploiting it), would mitigate some of the need for DCFC while allowing much of the existing infrastructure to remain in place. Most EV owners understand that public Level 2 charging was never intended to replace more comprehensive charging needs otherwise supplied at home or provided by public DCFC.
I mention these options as interim solutions only with the understanding that Easton has no plans to upgrade these Level 2 chargers to DCFC. DCFC with Point-of-Sale capability would be the preferable option but I fear the expense will discourage its implementation. Considering that these downtown charging stations were originally intended simply to encourage out-of-town EV owners to patronize local shopping, IMHO, a simple and cost-effective metering solution with the existing Level 2 charging stations upgraded to 11.5kW would satisfy most of these EV owners especially since newer EV’s are coming equipped to handle 11.5kW or higher Level 2 charging. Again, just an interim idea.
Jan Bohn says
I agree with Mr. DiCenso – do not see any reason for those charging EV’s to have a free ride. Also do not see why it should take a few months to come up with information about changing the charging stations to point of sale and/or to fast chargers. I don’t have an EV nor do I intend to buy one in the near future but friends who do have ones plan their trips based on chargers. If we wish to attract visitors to Talbot County and Easton fast chargers would be a plus.
John Hall says
One reason to never start a free government program is all the whining you will hear if you ever suggest stopping it. Presumably, the world will come to an end if people have to pay to charge their electric cars.
Craig Fuller says
Since this good discussion continues, I thought I’d inject a few facts from today’s drive.
My home is between Easton and Oxford. I had a meeting today at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) which is about 14 miles away.
I left home with 35% charge on my EV battery and a range of 92 miles.
I arrived at CBMM with a 28% battery charge and a range of 79 miles and plugged in the new ChargePoint EV charger recently installed in the CBMM parking lot. It provides a charge that adds 19.8 miles/hour to the battery with 6.6 kW of charging power.
The vehicle charged for 1 hour and 39 minutes, giving me a 40% charge on the battery and a range of 112 miles. The price of the charge was $3.22.
I returned home with a 36% charge on my battery and a range of 101 miles.
Some observations:
While the new charger operates at a low rate, I was able to fully replace the battery usage required for the roundtrip. And, for the 28-mile trip, the cost of the charge was just over $3.
Had I driven my SUV that gets about 25 miles to the gallon of premium fuel, the round trip would have cost me a gallon of $4.25 gas.
In truth, I don’t think many EV drivers look around for the free chargers many of which do not work, and they are probably going away anyway. We mostly charge at home overnight when rates are lower or look for more rapid chargers. For example, driving 20 minutes out of Easton to a charger on Highway 50 at Route 404, one can use a charger that provides about 150 miles of added range for every one hour of charging because it’s charging at 50 kW. And, chargers are out along the road that are three times that powerful.
The lower power chargers are putting the equivalent of about a gallon of gas in the tank every hour! Helpful, yes. But, the future is, like so many other things, in delivering more, faster.
Finding an EV charging solution in Easton that works for visitors to our community who want to come for shopping, a meal or entertainment and then travel away after 2 or 3 hours in town is important and adds one more reason to visit. The good news is that there are many good alternatives out there….just go visit Vienna, Maryland (population 270) to learn more. Or, visit the ChargePoint site: https://www.chargepoint.com
Karen Reed says
I pay for my fuel for my cars, why should someone else pick up the tab? They chose to drive a EV they can pay the cost to charge it.
Reed Fawell 3 says
I made a comment on this issue earlier which I posted on this site, and was subsequently erased.
Why?
The fact remains, as best I can discern, that these EV stations were installed by the town without explanation or public discussion beforehand as to who and how they were going to be paid for, when in fact their cost are going to be picked by people receiving no benefit therefrom for the benefit of a few, namely the owners of EVs, all without public discussion, or the knowledge of those footing the bill.
Why is that okay? Why is that proper?
The fact that “Two years ago, offering a charging station at no cost seemed public spirited and supportive of those seeking to rely on something other than fossil fuel to power a vehicle,” does not justify such high handed behavior.
William wieland says
If the Town charges for trash removal,electricity, taxes for roads, and every construction expense they can then there is no reason to NOT charge someone to charge their car! Would you pay for my gas? Do you pay for my private parking. This to me is unimaginable that you would offer free electricity to anyone, especially someone who can afford to purchase an electric car.