An analysis of 20,000 EV stations concludes that charging is still a massive bummer

The experience of charging an electric vehicle in the US could be better, and a big new study is out that lists the biggest infrastructure pain points, including a failure to report broken stalls, inaccurate station status messages, aging equipment, and some habitually unreliable network providers (who go unnamed in the study, unfortunately).

The study was conducted by the company ChargeHelp, which offers EV charger operations and maintenance solutions. The firm also had its findings reviewed and confirmed by Professor Gil Tal, who is director of the Electric Vehicle Research Center at UC Davis. ChargeHelp used four years of data from 20,000 chargers it monitors, comparing networked stations’ self-reported uptime against the actual uptime EV drivers find on location.

EV chargers can break in many ways, the study concludes. These include broken retractor systems intended to protect the cable from getting mangled by vehicle tires, broken screens, and inoperable payment systems. There is also general damage to the cabinet and, of course, broken cables and connectors.

Across the chargers recorded, ChargeHelp calculates that actual uptime is only 73.7 percent compared to 84.6 percent as self-reported by the EV network providers.

The study found that 26 percent of all stations analyzed did not positively match the perceived status of the chargers as presented in the networks’ software. That means some charge networks overstate the number of stations it has that are online, which puts a damper on the confidence EV owners should have in the charging infrastructure. It’s especially problematic when one badly needs a charge and ends up at a station that an app said was online, but wasn’t.

The study lists various situations where an EV driver can’t successfully connect with a charger, including “ghost” station scenarios, where stalls appear in an app but either don’t exist or are broken. The study also describes “zombie stations,” which exist and work but don’t appear in the apps, so drivers don’t go to them. And “confused occupancy” is when an app tells drivers certain stalls are available, but they aren’t. “Dead ends” seem all gravy until you plug in and find out it doesn’t work. ChargeHelp claims reliable software interoperability and network data sharing can help fix these issues.

There are also surprising variations in charger downtime based on location. For instance, at 4.4 percent, New Jersey had some of the lowest number of down ports in the country at the start of 2023. However, the state only had 27 working public charge ports per 1,000 registered EVs, which might not satisfy demand. Contrast that with Washington DC, which had almost 11 percent down ports, yet had 137 ports per 1,000 registered EVs.