In a bid to highlight the Biden administration's substantial investment in electric vehicles, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm embarked on a four-day electric vehicle (EV) journey from Charlotte, North Carolina to Memphis, Tennessee this past summer.
However, the trip was not without its challenges, particularly in terms of charging infrastructure.
During a stopover in Grovetown, Georgia, Granholm and her convoy, which included a Cadillac Lyriq, a Ford F-150 Lightning, and a Chevy Bolt, encountered a shortage of fast chargers. As reported by NPR, one of the four station's chargers was out of order, and the others were occupied. This led to an Energy Department staffer parking a gasoline-powered car to reserve a spot for Granholm, which subsequently blocked a family with a baby from accessing the charger on a hot summer day.
The family resorted to calling the police, but the sheriff's office stated that they were powerless to intervene, as Georgia law does not prohibit non-EVs from parking at charging stations. In an attempt to defuse the situation, Energy Department staff relocated other vehicles to slower chargers, ensuring that both the family and Granholm could charge their vehicles.
Insider reports that the US has approximately three EV charging ports for every 10,000 people. John Ryan, an electric BMW driver who had to wait for the family and Granholm to finish charging, told NPR, "It's just par for the course. They'll get it together at some point."
JD Power, a leading auto-data firm, has revealed that concerns about public chargers are the primary reason buyers hesitate to transition to electric vehicles, even more so than the high cost of these vehicles. Existing EV drivers express dissatisfaction due to the scarcity of reliable public charging stations.
Brent Gruber, executive director of EV practice at JD Power, stated, "The availability of public charging stations is still a critical obstacle, but it isn't the only one. EV owners continue to have issues with many aspects of public charging, as the cost and speed of charging and the availability of things to do while waiting for their vehicle to charge are the least satisfying aspects."
He added, "At the same time, the reliability of public chargers continues to be a problem. The situation is stuck at a level where one of every five visits ends without charging, the majority of which are due to station outages."
Last month, Ford CEO Jim Farley shared his own "reality check" when he attempted to charge his EV during a road trip across the American West. In a video posted online, Farley revealed that it took 40 minutes for his car to reach only a 40 percent charge, a process that is significantly longer than refueling at a gas station.
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