Chelsea Sexton's Volt Charger Woes Don't Bode Well for You and Me
If Chelsea Sexton is having a problem installing her EV charger, it doesn't bode well for what will happen when ordinary people do battle with their homeowners' association, their town hall and their charging company. It is a vivid example of what appears to be a lack of advance preparation for the electric car revolution. And if getting wired turns out to be a huge hassle, some "early adopters" are going to get turned off.
Sexton, who worked at General Motors during the halcyon days of the EV-1 electric vehicle, later became disillusioned with the company's decision to crush them and appeared as one of the stars of Chris Paine's influential documentary Who Killed the Electric Car? But the $41,000 Chevrolet Volt and other EV programs restored at least some of her faith, and he's now an advisor to many companies in the space, and the only female member of the Volt Customer Advisory Board.
The member of that elite team comes with free use of a Volt for three months, and and a complimentary 240-volt charger. The GM team came to Sexton's multi-family home in El Segundo, California this week to put in the charger. It was supposed to be easy, since Sexton has her own garage and a 200-amp panel. Everything was fine until Sexton brought up her need for a "time of use" electric meter.
A little explanation is in order. California puts its electricity users in pricing categories based on their usage patterns. Since Sexton uses a "stunningly low" amount of electricity, she's on the lowest tier. But the addition of the Volt would push her into a higher bracket, making it likely that EV charging "would be more expensive than putting gas in my Saturn." With the time-of-use meter, the EV is billed separately and doesn't count as part of her home use.
But California's public utilities commission requires all of its customers' electric meters to be grouped together, and that meant running a one-inch thick metal conduit along the face of her building. The other option is to punch through three neighbors' walls. "I can just see the homeowners' association going for that," she said.
According to Sexton, "There's nothing about my installation that they shouldn't have seen coming. We could have been resolving this a month ago. And the point is that it happened to me, someone who understands the process as well as anyone, who has access to all the right people, who's been party to hundreds of installations. So the average person is likely to get incredibly frustrated, and may end up walking away â€"- unless they're so enthusiastic that they'll put up with it."
Much of the early speculation has focused on city inspectors as a likely source of delays. Richard Lowenthal, CEO of charging company Coulomb Technologies, told me it took a month to get the charger for his Mini E installed. And think of the clout that guy has! The issue is possible long delays waiting for city inspectors to certify electricians' installation work.
But Sexton hasn't even engaged the city of El Segundo yet -- they're coming out after the hardware is installed. She's hoping that her experience will get GM more attuned to problems that await them in multi-family dwellings. If it was her own house, she could have allowed the team to install the charger and conduit â€" and even punch through some walls. Well, maybe not that.
I am convinced that none of the relevant parties, including car companies, utilities, state and local officials, have fully thought through the installation of charging infrastructure, including contingency plans for problems like Sexton's. I've become frustrated by the vagueness emanating from parties issuing assurances that all will go smoothly. Frankly, it won't. And here's exhibit A.
Sexton is looking into her options, and making an appointment with the neighborhood association. Meanwhile, her garage is staying locked. And the Volt is supposed to be delivered next week.
Related:
- At $41,000, the Volt Isn't Cheap (But it Might Blaze Trails)
- Fear Factor: The Chevrolet Volt's Range Advantage Matters Now, But it Could Fade