After yesterday’s challenges, I set out to get a charge for the car while completing some more needed errands. I rolled the dice and decided to head to Wrentham to use the Electrify America chargers before the outlet mall opened up. Despite the fact that the mall was closed, we faced the dreaded 1 of 4 available chargers message on the journey there.

We ventured there anyway, only to find that the 1 of 4 allegedly available was open, but the space was no longer available – not a surprising discovery. However, a space did open up when a vehicle vacated the spot, but when I pulled in, I found that the charger was malfunctioning and not working. Being the ever calm person I am, I resisted the urge to drive away in rage, and instead called the Electrify America Customer Service line with the hope they could remedy the issue with a quick reset.

On the call, I was instantly met with the dreaded pre-recorded introductions that provided useless information that had absolutely nothing to do with getting the charger working. After several minutes, I was finally connected with a real live human. I was pleasantly surprised when she politely and expeditiously walked me through the steps to reset the machine and we were on our way to a charge!

The only problem was that this 150 Kw “Ultra Fast” charger was only producing 65 kW of power and even dipped as low as 54kW during the session). I very much appreciated the quick Customer Service and ability to get the charger back online because my 2nd alternative station was showing 0 of 4 stations available, so I would have been out of luck heading there.

We have legislation pending that will have the Division of Standards take over the inspection of charging stations in Massachusetts, similar to what they do with gas stations. The Division of Standards enforces accuracy requirements and other standards relating to weighing and measuring devices and their use in the sale of food, fuels and other products. Currently, DOS regulates the sale of gasoline including the inspection of all fuel dispensing equipment for required markings pertaining to grade and brand and tests and approves dispensing devices. So getting them on board with vehicle chargers will hopefully improve the experiences for consumers.