Electrify America app and terrible pricing change
 

The Electrify America app is in the app stores now. However, what's going on with the pricing? It is state dependent and there is a "pass+" plan but it appears to have gotten a massive 3x price increase. Almost $1 per minute? Are they trying to sell more Tesla's?

"Pass" prices:
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...401706b641.png

"Pass+" prices:
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...17ca2da445.png

Thinking about this further. Some of my charging stops will be for 45+ minutes to get a full 200+ miles of range. That will cost around $40 for 200 miles of range. That's the equivalent of $8/gallon of gas for my 40mpg Chevy Volt. If we compare to a 24mpg Audi SQ5, it's about $4.8/gallon. These prices seems unreasonably high.

Never mind, totally misread the thread.

The rates are identical for Washington State. Outrageously high. Granted, most of my charging will be done at home, but still, it will be tough for them to make the economic argument with numbers like these!

What a difference a day makes..

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...ad14804492.png

Even if they are a dollar a minute, why are we freaking out, exactly? Are people going to rely on these things for daily charging? In that case, I'd stick with a Q8 for the time being. If it's for occasional road trips, is $30 a couple times a year really going to be the dealbreaker for you? I'd prefer them to be priced to be profitable, so we are assured a steady stream of maintenance and new construction, and so that people _don't_ use them as daily chargers when they don't need to. Tesla is running into huge congestion issues with all the free charging they've been handing out over the years.

Think of it this way, the 1000 kWh we get for free could now be worth about $500.

Agreed. There's a convenience factor associated with DC charging. Going to be a relatively rare event for me at least. Also consider that fuel along the main corridors is usually priced with a premium as well. Although at a real gas station you get to experience Corn Nuts and "the facilities".

Very little competition in the 150 kW space right now. That will change. In the meantime, I'm happy to have EA stepping up so quickly.

I agree with all being said here with lots of good points and I have a few more thoughts:

1. A 3x increase overnight in price isn't ok with me under any circumstance. This feels very "bait & switch" to me.

2. This all comes back to the full charging/efficiency ecosystem. We chose the least efficient long-range EV and that will cost more. Similar to buying the V8 version of a car. If a more efficient fast-charging large-battery vehicle uses EA, it will be cheaper.

3. Electrify America was set up as part of the dieselgate settlement. Charging prices that are more expensive than gas will disincentivize EV adoption. I agree with them being able to make money from their investment but this doesn't seem like a good outcome in the short term.

4. Porsche Taycan owners are getting a heck of a deal as the pricing currently stands, however, I'm sure they will add a 300kw+ ($1.99/minute) tier when that car comes out.

I guess I haven't been paying attention to the pricing until now, so if that is indeed a threefold increase that is surprising and a bit disturbing. Perhaps the rates were held artificially low while Cycle 1 was built out? "Soft open" pricing so to speak.

How do the new rates compare to home charging? For me in CA, pretty favorably. Ignoring session and membership fees and based on 150 kW (2.5 kWh/minute), the old rate of 35¢ per minute is about 14¢ per kWh. That is well below the rate I pay at home of 22¢ off peak. At the new rate of 70¢ per minute you're paying about 28¢ per kWh. That sounds like a reasonable premium given the speed and costs associated with DC charging (only 4¢ more than my peak rate). Pass+ looks to be a no brainer at $4/month and no session fee.