Maintenance delays critically undermine public EV charging usability by increasing inoperability rates, stranding drivers, and eroding trust in infrastructure reliability.
Key impacts
- High inoperability rates:
Studies show 25% of public chargers may be non-functional at any time, with fast chargers in areas like San Francisco Bay dropping to 72.5% operability. Regional variability exacerbates the issue, with failure rates exceeding 10% in some states against a national average of 4.7%. - Stranded drivers:
Users repeatedly encounter multiple consecutive non-functional chargers, exemplified by cases like a Tesla driver reaching 0% charge after four failed attempts and Maryland EV owners finding entire charging sites inoperable for months. - Systemic neglect:
Deferred maintenance, abandoned software updates, and broken hardware (e.g., charging wands) persist due to operator inaction. Chargers installed for publicity often lack long-term operational support, leading to prolonged outages. - Grid connection delays:
While less directly tied to maintenance, slow grid interconnection during deployment compounds frustration by limiting charger availability upfront, indirectly worsening perceptions of reliability.
These factors collectively deter EV adoption by highlighting risks of dependency on unpredictable public infrastructure.
Original article by NenPower, If reposted, please credit the source: https://nenpower.com/blog/how-do-maintenance-delays-impact-the-usability-of-public-ev-chargers/
