Official EV Project / Ecotality / free charger thread

[Glenn]

Don't get me wrong, our Leaf is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but the waste of time and therefore money on the DOE/Ecotality side seems to be verging on criminal.

That, in a nutshell, says it all!

Glenn

 

[KeiJidosha]

Another press release today, announcing a partnership with a "global real estate firm", Jones Lang LaSalle.


Excerpt:

Jones Lang LaSalle will assist in identifying more than 2,000 host sites for Blink commercial charging units, including the Blink Level 2 Commercial Pedestal Charger, and the Blink DC Fast Charger. The planning efforts accomplished as part of the initial stages of The EV Project in the market areas will be used as the starting point for locating these host sites

What a joke this is turning out to be. The "planning efforts accomplished as part of the initial stages" supposedly included numerous verified locations a year ago. 8 months ago the spin was that all those awesome locations would be "free for project participants through May" as if that was going to be a huge perk.

The only saving grace to this whole thing is that for the most suitable usage pattern for the car (regular short to medium commute+errands), the infrastructure isn't actually needed, any more than you need public cell phone charging stations. It will be convenient, and add functionality on the margin, but it's not essential. The problem is that you don't really realize or believe that until you've had the car for a while, and without the cosmetic panacea of the infrastructure, uptake beyond the more risk tolerant early adopter set is liable to fizzle.

Don't get me wrong, our Leaf is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but the waste of time and therefore money on the DOE/Ecotality side seems to be verging on criminal.

A lack of public infrastructure is teaching new EV owners the car is less useful than it really is. ECOtality seems bogged down by the software and connectivity issues of the Blink residential chargers, so who knows when they might get around to public charging. Instead, they “partner” and “outsource”. That’s why they have a 95% administrative cost and no infrastructure. To me, it seems clear the DoE choose the wrong vendor. Yesterday, Coulomb installed their 500th charger. Many of these are public, show current status on their Smartphone app, and seem to be working well.

 

[Glenn]

Don't get me wrong, our Leaf is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but the waste of time and therefore money on the DOE/Ecotality side seems to be verging on criminal.

wsbca,

That, in a nutshell, says it all! Couple it with the abysmal record of the Blink units they're installing in residences, and one has to wonder if joining the Ecotality program is even worth the effort and savings. Some of us are thinking of "pulling the plug" and getting Phil's upgrade instead. As Keijidosha says, "it seems clear the DoE choose the wrong vendor."

Glenn

 

[sparky]

...To me, it seems clear the DoE choose the wrong vendor. Yesterday, Coulomb installed their 500th charger. Many of these are public, show current status on their Smartphone app, and seem to be working well.

Agreed about Coulomb's EVSEs and clean useful interface. But they're also DOE funded ( Coulomb to Deploy 4,600 Electric Car Charge Spots, Thanks to DOE )
Coulomb seems outshine all others right now.

 

[thankyouOB]

I dont blame ecotality on the commercial installations.
My employer wants to put in chargers but it is a long process. we are discussing with AV and Ecotality. The other venders did not even answer our inquiries.
The length of the process has more to do with our internal vetting and decisionmaking than the either AV or Ecotality responsiveness. They both sent reps to meet with us and we are having onsite assessments.

It is just not that simple for most businesses to say: Go Ahead.
Furthermore, there are prolly 1000 Leafs in all of CA, so the focus is really on installing chargers at residences.

 

[Packet]

I seriously think it might almost be worthwhile to have EV owners pool some money and see about paying to put in chargers in at various locations.

 

[OrientExpress]

Settle down early-adopters! 3 years from now, everybody will laugh about the "hunt for the charger".

 

[KeiJidosha]

How come no press release from ECOtality on this?

"The Registrant is unable to file its quarterly report on Form 10-Q within the prescribed time period because the Registrant and its independent auditor have not completed the review of the Registrant's financial statements for the quarter ended March 31, 2011." Filed on: May 16, 2011.

http://xml.10kwizard.com/filing_raw.php?repo=tenk&ipage=7616922

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

I got the same press release from ECOtotaly Useless and just about spit out my RedBull when I read this:

...to assist in identifying more than 2,000 host sites

Is that it, then? ECOtality has done WHAT exactly between October "1,400 public chargers" and now? They haven't even "identified sites"? So now they get off their ass and partner with someone to help them "identify sites"? WTF?

Meanwhile, my employer has been begging them for chargers to install, at our cost, on our property.
Done. Finished. Site Identified.
Can we get a charger? No.

Does DoE have a Fraud investigations department?

 

[Rat]

There are too many pages for me to try to find out if this has already been answered. As some may have read in other threads, I upgraded from an SV to an SL+QC in Feb. except Nissan screwed up and delivered a SV to my dealer. Meanwhile, I was continually being declared ineligible for the EV Project until I had the bright idea to order a second Leaf, which I did a month or so ago. Then I reapplied and was accepted. The 2nd Leaf was identical to the configuration I upgraded to in February. So Nissan says they found me a car meeting the upgraded specs, gave me a VIN, and I was waiting for it until I got a call three(?) days ago saying they aren't going to give me that car after all since I wasn't eTec approved. Earth to Nissan, yes I am, which is why I upgraded back in February at your urging!. But instead they are going to send me a SL+QC since my acceptance is based on the second car, not the first. So I contact my dealer and Ecotality. Both assure me I am in the project and it doesn't matter to them which car or when I get it as long as it has the QCP. The difference is that if Nissan doesn't show it as eTec approved, then I have to pay the $700 for the port. Ecotality says they'll still put in the free Blink EVSE and if I pay the $700 up front then Nissan will reimburse me for that. That's where I'm a little uneasy. I agree the dealer shouldn't have to eat that and try to get it back, but how do I get Nissan to pay it? It should be coming from Ecotality's project funds, anyway, not Nissan. So has anyone else been through this? Is it safe to go ahead and pay and then to whom do I submit a claim and how?

 

[Spies]

So has anyone else been through this? Is it safe to go ahead and pay and then to whom do I submit a claim and how?

Quite a few have been though this including myself. Yes you will eventually get the $700 and you request it though Leaf customer service once you have the car and you are listed in the EV project. It will be a check for exactly $700 no matter what you paid to the dealer including taxes. You can read more in about it in this thread stating from about where I linked http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2959&start=36

 

[Rat]

So has anyone else been through this? Is it safe to go ahead and pay and then to whom do I submit a claim and how?

Quite a few have been though this including myself. Yes you will eventually get the $700 and you request it though Leaf customer service once you have the car and you are listed in the EV project. It will be a check for exactly $700 no matter what you paid to the dealer including taxes. You can read more in about it in this thread stating from about where I linked http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2959&start=36

Great info. Thanks.

 

[lemketron]

Now if I could just get my Blink charger (heck, even the assessment)...

My Nissan account control panel still shows "eTec application pending".

Initially the Blink folks told me they were holding off on all assessments (and installs) until they could confirm that the car would arrive with the QC port (maybe this is specific to folks in the Bay Area since we weren't originally part of EVP).

My dealer emailed them a copy of his invoice showing my QC port, and I've since let them know that I received the car (now two weeks ago). Now, every few days I call the Blink folks again, and they tell me they'll escalate my application and I should hear from someone soon regarding my assessment.

I assume that at some point my Nissan control panel will no longer show "pending" (perhaps after the assessment)?

And sometime after that, I'll be able to call Nissan to request the refund of the $700 for my QC option?

 

[FairwoodRed]

Now if I could just get my Blink charger (heck, even the assessment)...

My Nissan account control panel still shows "eTec application pending".


I assume that at some point my Nissan control panel will no longer show "pending" (perhaps after the assessment)?

Don't count on your control panel updating to "eTech application accepted". Mine didn't. But Ecotalities database did update. They ended up having to manually update thier database again and force the link to the Nissan database to update that way. The did this while I was on the phone and I saw the change in under 30 seconds.

The moral of this story is that you should keep calling to see if the status has changed.

 

[jstack6]

A few members of our Phoenix EAA got their BLINK cards this week. Now they have to activate them and then they can use them at the few locations in Phoenix we know of. Monti's at Tempe Town lake near ASU and ADEQ 1110 W Wahington St Phoenix AZ visitor parking garage .

Jim www.phoenixeaa.com

 

[Carlos]

A few members of our Phoenix EAA got their BLINK cards this week. Now they have to activate them and then they can use them at the few locations in Phoenix we know of. Monti's at Tempe Town lake near ASU and ADEQ 1110 W Wahington St Phoenix AZ visitor parking garage .

Jim http://www.phoenixeaa.com

Hey Jim,
Do you know how long it took for the Blink Cards to be delivered from the time they were ordered. I ordered mine after the install at Monti's and they told me 3-6 months?
This seems a bit long considering that the EV community is small the demand can't be overwhelming. Either way Monti's management has a courtesy card and will be happy to set up the charge while you dine.
Carlos

 

[brownga]

I applied to be in the EV project and never got a response so I called them and was told that they're only covering certain LA zipcodes which I'm not in. Has anyone else in one of the rollout cities been rejected because you're not in an acceptable zipcode? It would save us and them time if they'd just publish exactly which zipcodes they're covering.

 

[themotorman]

Has anyone who has a Leaf managed to get a a free 240 charger installed? I agree that for the Volt it is a joke ( at the taxpayers expense too!! ).

 

[zigadabooga]

I was accepted for a free charger in February, ordered in March, delivered in June. Problem was I never read the part that said I needed to order an SL and choose the QCP option (L3) to receive the free L2 charger. So when my SV came I didn't get the free charger, oh well. Now trying to go through AV to get their L2 charger.

 

[LEAFfan]

Has anyone who has a Leaf managed to get a a free 240 charger installed? I agree that for the Volt it is a joke ( at the taxpayers expense too!! ).

You're kidding, right? There are tons of posts telling about receiving a free EV Project Blink charging station (the L1 and L2 charger is in the car).