Reflections on the State of DCFC Charging in the US

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

Living in an area with low cost electricity (2.8C/kWh overnight) and $4USD/USgallon gasoline makes my daily drive less than 1/10th the cost I used to pay for my 2500 Ram, and that is just the fuel...then there was oil, exhaust, brake pads, 'stuff' that conspired to drive the cost of ICE-travel even higher.
On longer highway trips, local DCFC costs about the same as travelling in similar sized vehicle on gasoline, but on average the lighting is far lower overall cost of operation per month for my use. And it's more fun.

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[electricpig]

Everybody's math & metrics are a bit different.

Last fall I kept very careful records of my costs on a 1568 mile trip from California to Arkansas. Most of it was on I-40 at highway speeds. I averaged right at 2.0 miles/kW. My total cost for charging - including an allowance for the restoration of the 100% charge at the destination - was $197.10 or 12.6¢/mile. I benefitted from a free DCFC charging stop in OKC, as well as using membership pricing at both EA (cheapest was 42¢/kW) and Tesla (cheapest was 23¢/kW) stations.

I calculated at the time that the gasoline cost for an ICE F-150 would have been around $242.

I do A LOT of long distance travel in my SR Pro, so my "fuel" savings are probably not as great as someone who does most of their charging at home. That said, when at my home in the Ozark Mountains, I benefit from a special EV charging rate of 5.6¢/kW for the first 400 kWh. That tends to really bring down my annual cost to power the Lightning.

Yeah it helps allot. Same area and utility. We have two ev's that we both average about 1300iles a month. In Jan which was cold, usage went up about 50%, but our bill told us that we had spent $67 for charging for the entire month of January withuch higher than average usage.

 

[RickLightning]

I too have used several different charge sites. EA was my favorite as I got fast-charging but they also have High-rate costs- ($.68/Kwh at Selma, CA in June). I also like Tesla but I have found that I cannot charge at many of their sites. Their rates are a bit lower as I found Tesla at $.47/Kwh in Selma. I just wish Tesla would open more of their charging sites to we F-150 lightning owners.

EA is 64 cents, plus tax, before discount at Selma, CA. With the membership, that would be 48 cents plus tax.

Tesla in Selma is 57 cents with tax. With discount it would be around 40 cents or so.

 

[Mcgyverrod]

EA is 64 cents, plus tax, before discount at Selma, CA. With the membership, that would be 48 cents plus tax.

Tesla in Selma is 57 cents with tax. With discount it would be around 40 cents or so.

Thx. I am a tesla member and will check into EA as I thought I was a member thru Ford

 

[RickLightning]

Thx. I am a tesla member and will check into EA as I thought I was a member thru Ford

No. There is no way to be a member through Ford. And, like Tesla, if you get the membership with EA, you must initiate charging via the EA app. Some people turn off Plug & Charge as a safety, because if your EA or Tesla initiated charging session fails to start, Plug & Charge can take over, and you get no discount.

 

[K6CCC]

Thx. I am a tesla member and will check into EA as I thought I was a member thru Ford

As Rick already answered, you can't get member pricing from any of the companies that have memberships by way of the FordPass app. For many of them (including Tesla and EA) you can charge via the FordPass app or simply plug in and charge (no app needed), but you pay non-member prices. Having a membership depends on how often you expect to charge at a particular vendor. I have maintained a Tesla membership since a few weeks after I bought my Lightning. Overall it has paid for itself - including one month when I never used it. Last month I charged four times at Tesla locations and saved $31.52 minus the monthly membership cost ($14.something after sales tax). I have only once charged at an EA station and the only reason for that is that the SuperCharger at Baker, CA is not open to non-Tesla vehicles. I bought the EA membership the night before that trip and saved $11.68 minus the $7.00 monthly membership on that one charge. I cancelled the EA membership after the trip. From what I have seen, Tesla is almost always less expensive than EA - and always has more chargers available.

Note that some chargers require you to activate the charger via an app prior to it operating. For example a ChargePoint station near my house (only used to learn how to make CP work), does not unlock the connector from the charger until you activate the charger. You can do that via the CP app or FordPass.

 

[On the Road with Ralph]

No. There is no way to be a member through Ford. And, like Tesla, if you get the membership with EA, you must initiate charging via the EA app. Some people turn off Plug & Charge as a safety, because if your EA or Tesla initiated charging session fails to start, Plug & Charge can take over, and you get no discount.

I am constantly astonished by how frequently this is misunderstood.

 

[RickLightning]

I am constantly astonished by how frequently this is misunderstood.

Less than the "I can't charge at every Tesla Supercharger?"...

 

[On the Road with Ralph]

Less than the "I can't charge at every Tesla Supercharger?"...

ROFL!

 

[Mcgyverrod]

As Rick already answered, you can't get member pricing from any of the companies that have memberships by way of the FordPass app. For many of them (including Tesla and EA) you can charge via the FordPass app or simply plug in and charge (no app needed), but you pay non-member prices. Having a membership depends on how often you expect to charge at a particular vendor. I have maintained a Tesla membership since a few weeks after I bought my Lightning. Overall it has paid for itself - including one month when I never used it. Last month I charged four times at Tesla locations and saved $31.52 minus the monthly membership cost ($14.something after sales tax). I have only once charged at an EA station and the only reason for that is that the SuperCharger at Baker, CA is not open to non-Tesla vehicles. I bought the EA membership the night before that trip and saved $11.68 minus the $7.00 monthly membership on that one charge. I cancelled the EA membership after the trip. From what I have seen, Tesla is almost always less expensive than EA - and always has more chargers available.

Note that some chargers require you to activate the charger via an app prior to it operating. For example a ChargePoint station near my house (only used to learn how to make CP work), does not unlock the connector from the charger until you activate the charger. You can do that via the CP app or FordPass.

Thank you very much for that great information. Since I rarely charge away, a membership fee would not work. I did register at Charge Point last year but rarely use it as they have no fast chargers over 62.5 Kw in areas I drive. Still love my truck!

 

[K6CCC]

If I were not driving some longer days I would not keep the Tesla membership. My longest day was 603 miles out in the desert (four fast charges) with a 412 mile day 9 days later (one fast charge). The majority of my charging is either at home with a FCSP (currently charging at 10.2 KW) or at work. I charge at work whenever I can because at the moment the four public chargers outside my office are free. They are only about 6.5 KW with a 4 hour parking limit, but it's FREE. Home and work make up 85% of my charge sessions. One of these days I'll add a couple more fields to my spreadsheet so I can see exactly what percentage of my KWH is from what source.

 

[RickLightning]

On any of the memberships (Tesla, EA), I join the morning of the trip, and immediately downgrade, which takes effect in 30 days. Breakeven analysis is easy. Tesla costs $12.99. If you save 20 to 24% on charging costing 48 cents (some is higher), that is roughly 10 cents per kWh, so breakeven is roughly 130kW, or the 2nd charge of the day. EA is 25% off, figure 12 cents discount, and costs $7. Breakeven is roughly 58kWh, 1 charge.

By planning my trip, I know which network I will be using (or both). Sometimes you will force (override ABRP) a charge onto the other network because you joined. On many trips, Tesla is cheaper to begin with.

I would never sign up for either network except when I take a trip. Maybe 4 months out of a year.

 

[FloridaMan655321]

I am constantly astonished by how frequently this is misunderstood.

Yes, but for a lot of people who just want to drive, like they do with their ICE vehicle. There is a learning curve right now that will hopefully go away in the near future where you just kind of drive and charge without any planning or thinking.

Less than the "I can't charge at every Tesla Supercharger?"...

As with above, this should go away soon and remove this confusion - at least I hope it goes away soon.

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