Electrify America Overpriced?

[kort6776]

in MA rates suck so it’s not cheap but half the EA cost at .32cents per kWh for me (all in supply and delivery).

your utility charges .32 per kwh?
I thought that my .12 was high

 

[Pragmatic]

Nation wide the 12 month rolling average cost (May 2023 - May 2024) to residential consumers was $0.1611 per kw-hr (from EIA). So at $0.12 you are not high but 75% of average.

The NE is generally high. My bill is $0.127 for delivery and $0.125 for supply or $0.252 total variable cost. Adding in the flat connection fee and my 12 month moving average (pre-Lucid) was $0.408.

 

[hmp10]

Okay, another day of Electrify America charging, and I am now pretty sure the problem lies with EA and not with the car.

Began the day with the Charlotte, NC station:

- Got the “Authentication Error” when we plugged in and had to start the session with the Lucid app
- A woman in a Kia EV6 pulled in next to us and spent about ten minutes trying to get a charge started using first her phone wallet, then a charge card, and finally her Kia app. (The EA screen was displaying “Ready to Plug In”, even though she had plugged in.) She gave up and left.
- A few minutes later a man pulled into the same space with a Hyundai Ioniq 5. Same problems as the woman. We only had a few minutes left to charge, so I told him to wait for our space. He said he had been having trouble with EA chargers for about a year.

Next charging stop was Commerce, GA:

- Got the “Authentication Error” and had to use the Lucid app at a 350-kW station. Charging terminated twice after a couple of minutes. So we switched to a 150-kW station. After another “Authentication Error” we finally completed our charge.

Next charging stop was Forsyth, GA:

- “Got the “Authentication Error” and used Lucid app to start. A guy in a Lyriq was next to us and said he had been having problems with EA recently.
- We and this guy headed to the WalMart and went it. A couple of minutes later my phone app said the charging session had terminated. So we headed back to the car.
- The guy in the Lyriq was right behind us, his charging session having also been prematurely terminated.
- A guy in a Kia EV9 had pulled up meanwhile. (Beautiful vehicle and he let us look inside.). He was also having trouble starting a charge and said that had been the case for him recently. He had charged the day before at an EA station in Ormand Beach, Fl and said six of the eight charge stations there were down and he had quite a wait.

Finished the day in Macon, GA with a top-off charge at a ChargePoint DCFC. (Other than one failed attempt a couple of years ago, I had only used their L2 before.):

- Went perfectly. Charging started as soon as I aimed my phone at the reader and, even though it was a 125-kW charger, we charged at about the same rate for that level of charge we see at EA chargers. (This was a Georgia Power charging location.)

I started this tale several days ago with a rant about how much Electrify America SUCKS. Although I’m calmer today, I stand by that view. It is a complete shit show, at least in the southeast.

 

[Tqlucid]

your utility charges .32 per kwh?
I thought that my .12 was high

Yep, MA electric rates are amongst highest in country. Blah

 

[kort6776]

Okay, another day of Electrify America charging, and I am now pretty sure the problem lies with EA and not with the car.

Began the day with the Charlotte, NC station:

- Got the “Authentication Error” when we plugged in and had to start the session with the Lucid app
- A woman in a Kia EV6 pulled in next to us and spent about ten minutes trying to get a charge started using first her phone wallet, then a charge card, and finally her Kia app. (The EA screen was displaying “Ready to Plug In”, even though she had plugged in.) She gave up and left.
- A few minutes later a man pulled into the same space with a Hyundai Ioniq 5. Same problems as the woman. We only had a few minutes left to charge, so I told him to wait for our space. He said he had been having trouble with EA chargers for about a year.

Next charging stop was Commerce, GA:

- Got the “Authentication Error” and had to use the Lucid app at a 350-kW station. Charging terminated twice after a couple of minutes. So we switched to a 150-kW station. After another “Authentication Error” we finally completed our charge.

Next charging stop was Forsyth, GA:

- “Got the “Authentication Error” and used Lucid app to start. A guy in a Lyriq was next to us and said he had been having problems with EA recently.
- We and this guy headed to the WalMart and went it. A couple of minutes later my phone app said the charging session had terminated. So we headed back to the car.
- The guy in the Lyriq was right behind us, his charging session having also been prematurely terminated.
- A guy in a Kia EV9 had pulled up meanwhile. (Beautiful vehicle and he let us look inside.). He was also having trouble starting a charge and said that had been the case for him recently. He had charged the day before at an EA station in Ormand Beach, Fl and said six of the eight charge stations there were down and he had quite a wait.

Finished the day in Macon, GA with a top-off charge at a ChargePoint DCFC. (Other than one failed attempt a couple of years ago, I had only used their L2 before.):

- Went perfectly. Charging started as soon as I aimed my phone at the reader and, even though it was a 125-kW charger, we charged at about the same rate for that level of charge we see at EA chargers. (This was a Georgia Power charging location.)

I started this tale several days ago with a rant about how much Electrify America SUCKS. Although I’m calmer today, I stand by that view. It is a complete shit show, at least in the southeast.

your problems appear to be that plug n charge does not seem to be working for you as evidenced by your being able to initiate charging via the lucid app.
that occasionally will happen, contact service and see if they can work things out for you.

 

[hmp10]

your problems appear to be that plug n charge does not seem to be working for you as evidenced by your being able to initiate charging via the lucid app.
that occasionally will happen, contact service and see if they can work things out for you.

I did, and they pushed a new PnC certificate to me. Changed nothing.

We’re at our second charging stop today. First was Valdosta where session initiated automatically. We went to Subway for sandwiches, and just as they were handed to us the Lucid app showed the session had terminated prematurely.

We’re now at Bushnell. Again, session initiated automatically. However, while we were cleaning windshield the session terminated after adding 4 percent of range. We restarted and waited about ten minutes to be sure it continued charging before walking to a Wendy’s. While we were eating, the session again terminated prematurely.

We’ve switched to a 150-kW station to try to get enough charge to get the hell home and put EA behind us for good.

THIS IS NOT THE CAR. It has been happening to other drivers of other brands at several of our stops on this trip. Lucid service techs I’ve consulted on the trip are saying it’s happening to them, too. EA might work okay in California, but it absolutely sucks in the southeast. Maybe they’re so strapped for resources that they’re only fixing and maintaining things in their largest market. But that’s irrelevant to me. I will not road trip again using EA chargers.

My recommendation to Lucid is NEVER mention Electrify America again. Any association is a curse.

 

[Pragmatic]

Well both stations have a 10 rating on Plugshare so they must be working for someone.

 

[kort6776]

I did, and they pushed a new PnC certificate to me. Changed nothing.

We’re at our second charging stop today. First was Valdosta where session initiated automatically. We went to Subway for sandwiches, and just as they were handed to us the Lucid app showed the session had terminated prematurely.

We’re now at Bushnell. Again, session initiated automatically. However, while we were cleaning windshield the session terminated after adding 4 percent of range. We restarted and waited about ten minutes to be sure it continued charging before walking to a Wendy’s. While we were eating, the session again terminated prematurely.

We’ve switched to a 150-kW station to try to get enough charge to get the hell home and put EA behind us for good.

THIS IS NOT THE CAR. It has been happening to other drivers of other brands at several of our stops on this trip. Lucid service techs I’ve consulted on the trip are saying it’s happening to them, too. EA might work okay in California, but it absolutely sucks in the southeast. Maybe they’re so strapped for resources that they’re only fixing and maintaining things in their largest market. But that’s irrelevant to me. I will not road trip again using EA chargers.

My recommendation to Lucid is NEVER mention Electrify America again. Any association is a curse.

I am not here to defend EA and I have had many issues charging other EVs at EA units, but I have charged my Air at some of the locations you have tried to charge at and did not have any issues like you have had as I noted on a report of my recent road trip.

for me the EA charging experience along I95 from FL to NJ has vastly improved over the last time that I made the very same trip.

I am far from an expert on these matters but I don't believe that your charging issues are being caused by EA.

 

[Rogue]

Hit and miss folks. EA has a location in Atlanta that has 10-12 stations. Of those stations, 3 of them work.

To readdress the topic, EA prices are on par with many stations I've come across. Prices have gone up across the board across all brands. With free charging, we don't pay much attention until the rare occasion of an alternative brand.

These brands become considerably cheaper with their passes when used more than once per month to offset the initial fee.

 

[Pragmatic]

To readdress the topic, EA prices are on par with many stations I've come across. Prices have gone up across the board across all brands. With free charging, we don't pay much attention until the rare occasion of an alternative brand.

The EA stations I use traversing the Thruway usually have Teslas using the limited stalls. One station has 4 stalls and a Tesla will be waiting to connect. At the same time the 12 stall Supercharger station in the same parking lot has open spots.

 

[coma24]

The EA stations I use traversing the Thruway usually have Teslas using the limited stalls. One station has 4 stalls and a Tesla will be waiting to connect. At the same time the 12 stall Supercharger station in the same parking lot has open spots.

wth is that all about? Are they waiting to test it out, or is the price per kw/h radically different to the Superchargers?

 

[hmp10]

I am not here to defend EA and I have had many issues charging other EVs at EA units, but I have charged my Air at some of the locations you have tried to charge at and did not have any issues like you have had as I noted on a report of my recent road trip.

for me the EA charging experience along I95 from FL to NJ has vastly improved over the last time that I made the very same trip.

I am far from an expert on these matters but I don't believe that your charging issues are being caused by EA.

On our most recent prior trip to the Carolinas we had a pretty good experience with EA -- the first time ever, in fact -- and I posted about how much it seemed to have improved. However, this trip was a different kettle of fish.

If the charging issues are not caused by EA, then who or what is causing them? As I've posted over the past few days, we met:

- a woman who had to try three stations in Brunswick to get a charging session started on an ID.4
- a woman who could not get a connection for an EV6 in Charlotte
- a man who could not get a connection for an Ioniq 5 in Charlotte
- a man in a Polestar who hooked up in Charlotte, fiddled around for a few minutes, and drove off without charging (I did not talk to him so don't know his story)
- a man in a Hummer who took 8 minutes to get a charge going in Bushnell
- a Lyric driver who, like us, had his charge prematurely terminated in Forsyth
- that same Touring driver who, on his road trip, was not get charge authentication and was having to use his Lucid app to connect
- a man who said he had been having problems connecting his EV9 at EA for several months; the day before he had found 6 of the 8 stations in Ormand Beach not working

(I might have attached a few of these anecdotes to the wrong locations, as we just got home, and I'm too tired to go over my daily posts from each location to check my memory.)

On top of this was Jason, a Lucid mobile service tech living near Charlotte who works out of the Atlanta Service Center, who told me that his Service Manager was having a slew of problems with EA not authenticating charging sessions.

Something has changed since our prior trip, and I don't buy the notion that it is at Lucid's end. I saw too many other brands having the same problems we were.

 

[Tqlucid]

In MA, the EA stations work pretty well. It’s just that there aren’t enough. Usually 3-4 chargers only. I have seen a broken one on occasion but it’s usually fixed the next day.

 

[borski]

On our most recent prior trip to the Carolinas we had a pretty good experience with EA -- the first time ever, in fact -- and I posted about how much it seemed to have improved. However, this trip was a different kettle of fish.

If the charging issues are not caused by EA, then who or what is causing them? As I've posted over the past few days, we met:

- a woman who had to try three stations in Brunswick to get a charging session started on an ID.4
- a woman who could not get a connection for an EV6 in Charlotte
- a man who could not get a connection for an Ioniq 5 in Charlotte
- a man in a Polestar who hooked up in Charlotte, fiddled around for a few minutes, and drove off without charging (I did not talk to him so don't know his story)
- a man in a Hummer who took 8 minutes to get a charge going in Bushnell
- a Lyric driver who, like us, had his charge prematurely terminated in Forsyth
- that same Touring driver who, on his road trip, was not get charge authentication and was having to use his Lucid app to connect
- a man who said he had been having problems connecting his EV9 at EA for several months; the day before he had found 6 of the 8 stations in Ormand Beach not working

(I might have attached a few of these anecdotes to the wrong locations, as we just got home, and I'm too tired to go over my daily posts from each location to check my memory.)

On top of this was Jason, a Lucid mobile service tech living near Charlotte who works out of the Atlanta Service Center, who told me that his Service Manager was having a slew of problems with EA not authenticating charging sessions.

Something has changed since our prior trip, and I don't buy the notion that it is at Lucid's end. I saw too many other brands having the same problems we were.

It’s the goddamn solar flares

 

[hmp10]

It’s the goddamn solar flares

I'm at my wit's end. I'm convinced Electrify America is having problems in the southeast. Besides all the other problems we saw other drivers having, the ringer was when the Lyric driver who was charging next to us but off a different charge station had his charging session prematurely terminated at the same time we did.

On the other hand, the car is behaving bizarrely. Last night when we got home I set the charge limit to 80% and plugged into our garage plug. When I checked this morning, once again the car had charged beyond the set limit. You might remember this happened on the trip at a L2 ChargePoint charger at a hotel (that time to 85%).

I'm going to start another thread about this issue to see if anyone else has seen this problem. Both the Atlanta and Lucid Customer Service have told me they have never encountered this issue.

 

[borski]

I'm at my wit's end. I'm convinced Electrify America is having problems in the southeast. Besides all the other problems we saw other drivers having, the ringer was when the Lyric driver who was charging next to us but off a different charge station had his charging session prematurely terminated at the same time we did.

On the other hand, the car is behaving bizarrely. Last night when we got home I set the charge limit to 80% and plugged into our garage plug. When I checked this morning, once again the car had charged beyond the set limit. You might remember this happened on the trip at a L2 ChargePoint charger at a hotel (that time to 85%).

I'm going to start another thread about this issue to see if anyone else has seen this problem. Both the Atlanta and Lucid Customer Service have told me they have never encountered this issue.

View attachment 22524
View attachment 22525

Yeah dude there’s something wrong with your car. That’s super weird.

 

[hmp10]

Since our Wunderbox was replaced along with the HV battery pack and rear drive unit and is the current version, the mobile tech from the Atlanta region guessed that there was a software glitch that caused the computer not to register a signal that the charge limit had been reached and that it only picked up one of the later signals. But now that the issue has repeated, who knows . . . ?

The car is going in Monday to have the frunk latches replaced (which requires bumper removal) and to address a tire pressure sensor issue that cropped up on the trip. This will be added to the list.

 

[hmp10]

"Tailosive EV" posted a video about a half hour ago. A discussion begins at time mark 6:00 that pretty much reflects the Electrify America experience we had last week on a road trip.

As people on this forum report, some people do seem to be having pretty good luck with EA, but there are many others who don't -- and the continuing press about it is probably putting a real damper on EV adoption.