Electrification Progress in the Age of COVID

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It’s pretty clear that vaccine or no, COVID will be here for a while, and with it the new normal of face masks, social distancing, telecommuting and (consequently) less road travel. While some might view this with trepidation, we see it as an opportunity. Since the earliest weeks of the pandemic, major metro areas like Los Angeles, Seattle and Chicago – those with large reductions in automobile traffic – immediately began seeing improvements in air quality, according to articles in the New York Times and Washington Post. More recent, an NPR story noted ozone pollution has decreased as much as 15% in many of these places. It seems an unintended consequence of the lockdown has been to accelerate the transition to responsible mobility by demonstrating its positive effects on the environment.

However, from a practical standpoint, the charging industry in general and our company in particular have faced its share of challenges. The government’s focus on addressing the crisis has resulted in longer permitting times. Supply chain disruptions mean greater waits for switchgear and other critical equipment. Hits taken by travel and hospitality businesses, from forced closures to reduced traffic, mean many potential clients are delaying installation of charging stations. Car sales across the board have dwindled.

Fortunately, since our founding, we have been defined by resilience, actively working to disrupt transportation industry norms and overcome obstacles – real or perceived – to EV adoption. We’ve stayed the course and not only managed to survive these unusual times, but thrive. How so? First, the State of California deemed EVCS an essential business due to our expertise at installing fuel infrastructure. On a state level, the Newsom administration has been extremely friendly toward the EV industry, and with new targets for statewide EV adoption by 2035 announced in the midst of the pandemic, that doesn’t look to be changing anytime soon. On a national level, the incoming Biden administration is poised to provide even more support.

Moreover, much of our funding comes from government agencies that remain fully operational, including state-run transportation boards and energy commissions, which remain vital to the nation’s operational health. For instance, CALeVIP is an organization funded by the CEC to support innovations in fuel technologies and transportation with the goal of improving air quality and reducing reliance on traditional fossil fuels. They currently have $91.9 million in capital to invest in meeting regional goals for Level 2 and DC fast charging, including a target of servicing 1.5 million EVs by 2025, and EVCS will be a prime beneficiary of such investment. COVID has done nothing to slow these initiatives.

In addition, our utilization of advanced networking technologies and staff’s ability to innovate during these ever-changing times means EVCS has barely skipped a beat in pursuit of its zero-emission mobility goals. We’ve adapted extremely well to working remotely, facilitated strategic partnerships with other essential businesses and secured funding for long-term infrastructure investment. In many instances, the pandemic has actually forced changes that improved efficiency and reduced operating costs. And our ability to fund installations means many cash-strapped companies who have temporarily shut down are using this time to put in charging stations.

Bottom line, our mission to increase EV adoption across California (and beyond) remains as strong today as it was when the company launched, and our track record has shown we have the means to achieve it. Vaccine or no, EVCS is extremely healthy and has shown strong immunity to the effects of the virus.

More information about CALeVIP and their mandate can be found on their website here: https://calevip.org/

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The Race to Democratize Charging Infrastructure

According to McKinsey & Company, “As the number of EVs on the road increases, annual demand for electricity to charge them would surge from 11 billion kWh now to 230 billion kWh in 2030… Modeling indicates that nearly 30 million chargers would be needed to deliver so much electricity in that year. While most of these chargers would be installed at residences, 1.2 million would [need to] be public chargers.” More importantly, these public chargers must be targeted to drivers of all ages, genders, races, cultures, income levels and geographic segments. As such, EVCS has identified three primary areas necessary to increasing the democratization of charging infrastructure:

Navigating California’s New EV Mandate

California’s going all in on electric. On August 25th, Governor Gavin Newsom made a very important announcement concerning the future of transportation in the Golden State: “We can solve this climate crisis if we focus on the big, bold steps necessary to cut pollution. California now has a groundbreaking, world-leading plan to achieve 100 percent zero-emission vehicle sales by 2035.” Big and bold, indeed. And while highly encouraging, it brings up a number of questions moving forward.

How EVCS is Repairing Reliability Concerns

One of the biggest concerns among EV drivers today is the reliability of public chargers. One recent survey from the Department of Bioengineering at UC Berkeley claims as many as 23% of public chargers in the Bay Area alone are, as Wired sums up, “nonfunctioning at any given time, stymied by broken screens, shoddy credit card or payment systems, network connection failures, or damaged plugs.” And that’s in a locale prioritizing the conversion to electric. Testimony from motorists seems to corroborate these findings. A CEC survey of 1,290 EV drivers found that fully 60% had experienced damaged or inoperable chargers, while almost half needed assistance from customer service. We find this wholly unacceptable and have taken measures to ensure that chargers in the EVCS network rise to the standard of operability our customers expect. Here are a few ways we’re doing that:

Installation of the Month (July 2022): Kenwood Inn & Spa

A key focus for us over the last several years has been the installation of additional chargers at holiday hot spots, tourist destinations, and other key points of interest. Not only will it help dispel long-range travel anxiety among many new EV drivers, but it will also lead to a significant reduction in carbon emissions otherwise generated by gas-guzzlers during peak vacation seasons. Moreover, our egalitarian approach to site selection means we’re just as likely to install a charger at a McDonald’s as we are at a Morton’s since we understand the value in catering to a broad clientele. However, higher net worth individuals continue to drive EV sales in the US (a June 2021 Fuels Institute study specifies middle-aged males with household incomes over $100,000), so catering to venues that offer a luxury experience will encourage even greater participation by this group while serving as a bellwether for lower-income drivers who are attracted to the idea of electric mobility as a symbol of status.