Good News and Bad News

[jcesare]

The good news: Pala Casino now has two Blink EVSEs so there are now chargers in rural San Diego county.
The bad news: $4/hour to charge :x

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/09/pala-casino-installs-electric-car-charging-equipment/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[TomT]

That is DOA! And incredibly stupid of them if they are trying to promote increased attendance...

The good news: Pala Casino now has two Blink EVSEs so there are now chargers in rural San Diego county.
The bad news: $4/hour to charge :x

 

[Randy]

We talked about this a few days back on another thread...

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=4093&hilit=pala&start=30" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Casinos aren't eligible for the DOE grant funding, so Pala had to pay for the units and for their installation. It would be nice if they could somehow validate charging with a meal purchase or gaming....

Randy

 

[smkettner]

I can run my portable generator for less than $4 per hour :roll: :lol:

 

[Randy]

There's a 50/50 split on the revenue, so Pala is trying to recover their capital cost for equipment and installation (many thousands of $$$, I'm sure), as well as the electricity costs and potential additional demand charges on two units all on the $2 per hour fee. They're not exactly going to get rich from charging that amount...

If both units are charging Leafs at the peak time of the day and adding to their total demand 100% (worst case), the monthly demand charge for those two units would be ~$200 total in addition to the cost of the energy consumed. In the future, if both of those stations are charging 6.6kW cars at peak, the demand charge would be double (~$400 per month worst case). This is the challenge of the commercial sites...

Like I've said, I wish it were cheaper as well, but I think that's the reality of the commercial market. If some hosts charge less, it's because they're willing to eat more of that cost and give away energy to attract customers. I still think it would be a great idea for Pala to give out Blink cards that are pre-paid somehow like a validation when you eat at the restaurant or partake of the gaming facilities...

 

[EVDRIVER]

So only $32 to fully charge. Good deal :lol: Do you get free drinks with that?

 

[TRONZ]

Like I've said, I wish it were cheaper as well, but I think that's the reality of the commercial market.

:lol: A $4/hour L2 charge is not the reality of the commercial market, this is just the reality of Ecotality/Blink! Ya know, the failed infrastructure people?!?! The only true commercial reality is that they are toast in 102 days.

I appreciate your "optimism" for these companies but they are unlikely to survive since they only managed to capture a small amount of the $100 million grant.

 

[surfingslovak]

[A $4/hour L2 charge is not the reality of the commercial market, this is just the reality of Ecotality/Blink!

The City of Los Altos has recently installed a Coulomb ChargePoint station and they want $5 an hour. This is not just an Ecototality issue. Perhaps it's based on high installation costs and the incorrect perception that an EV can recharge quickly, much like a regular car at a gas station?

http://carstations.com/8648" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Herm]

I'm sure the casino manager would like to hear your opinion on the subject.. I doubt they will have many takers at those rates. Perhaps they can be convinced to install a few 120V and 240V sockets if they want to save some money. All BEVs can plug into standard 120V sockets, some can use the 240V as well.

 

[EVDRIVER]

Ecotality is using the funds they got to try and find new ways to make money rather than spend the money doing what they were supposed to do. If you think that is not accurate then just learn about their company a bit At least Coulomb has done something. Ecotality is also the master of BS, poor management and weak on technology and high on ego and quite clueless. But then again one could apply some of that to AV.

 

[hodad66]

all this makes me think about the Volt even more. Charge at home
95% of the time and drive home on gas if I have to. $4 an hour?

 

[pjoseph]

Austin Energy currently offers a 6 month subscription rate of $25 for unlimited charging. A total of 55 Chargepoint EVSEs (from Coulomb Technologies) are available throughout the city.

They are mostly interested in gathering and analyzing the charging data just now. My napkin count came up with ~150 Leafs in the Austin metro.

 

[TRONZ]

Ecotality is using the funds they got to try and find new ways to make money rather than spend the money doing what they were supposed to do. If you think that is not accurate then just learn about their company a bit At least Coulomb has done something. Ecotality is also the master of BS, poor management and weak on technology and high on ego and quite clueless. But then again one could apply some of that to AV.

Bingo!

 

[ColumbiaRiverGorge]

Electric Avenue in Portand, OR charges $1.60 an hour with 8 EVSEs & 1 of them being an L3. Charging is free between 7 pm-8 am . I drove 72 miles west along the Columbia River & charged for free when arriving in Portland one night. I drove back into Town on a Saturday & with the L3 broken, i paid $13.50 for 8.5 hours of L2 charging, i just could not get back to my car between 5-5.5 hours of L2 charging, which is all it takes.