RAN charging how much???

[MookieMV]

Was very happy to discover a RAN charging station on my recent trip. Arrived and all six chargers were available. Was thrilled until I discovered Rivian charging $.60/Kw!! No wonder no one is charging here. Right down the street Telsa is $.51 and ChargePoint $.47. Why am I getting ripped off by my own car company? Is this how they demonstrate loyalty? They certainly won’t see me charging here again. Sheesh.

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[Dave Cundiff]

I'm not here to defend Rivian's pricing decisions, @MookieMV, but here are a few things we get for the increased cost at RAN charging locations:

(1) Always multiple available charging stations;
(2) Consistently renewable power, even when Rivian has to pay more for it;
(3) Seamless, reliable plug-and-charge, automatically billed to our credit or debit card; and
(4) Profits, if there are any, go to Rivian, stabilizing the company so Rivian's service network will be there as long as our vehicles last.

I would prefer to have those advantages PLUS the same we would pay with other chains. So would we all. I completely respect those who choose to charge elsewhere.

Thanks for being part of the Rivian community!

 

[COdogman]

Was very happy to discover a RAN charging station on my recent trip. Arrived and all six chargers were available. Was thrilled until I discovered Rivian charging $.60/Kw!! No wonder no one is charging here. Right down the street Telsa is $.51 and ChargePoint $.47. Why am I getting ripped off by my own car company? Is this how they demonstrate loyalty? They certainly won’t see me charging here again. Sheesh.

You bought a vehicle and they made you a vehicle. You didn't buy a lifetime of what you believe is cheap charging.

Rivian attempts to match the power that goes through RAN with renewable energy purchases/development. So their goal never has been to be the cheapest. That may not matter to you, but it does matter to others.

Every kilowatt-hour our chargers deliver is matched with renewable resources like solar and wind, on an annual basis. That means the amount of renewable energy we develop or purchase, matches or exceeds the amount of energy flowing through our Rivian Waypoints and Rivian Adventure Network chargers and into EVs./QUOTE]

 

[shamoo]

After the significant increase in RAN charging prices (maybe a year ago?) from ~$0.3x to ~$0.6x cents, I completely skip them and go to Tesla.

RAN is also usually within a couple blocks of a large Tesla charging station too, so its not like we don't have a choice.

I understand the economics of it, but I'm no longer charging there anymore. Plus I RARELY charge outside of home (maybe use public chargers 3 times a year).

 

[Rivdog]

I’ll pay extra to not have to deal with lines and give Tesla any money. An extra hour of my life and no extra frustration dealing with half-baked apps, broken chargers, and other tech issues on a road trip is worth $10 to me.

 

[VSG]

Was very happy to discover a RAN charging station on my recent trip. Arrived and all six chargers were available. Was thrilled until I discovered Rivian charging $.60/Kw!! No wonder no one is charging here. Right down the street Telsa is $.51 and ChargePoint $.47. Why am I getting ripped off by my own car company? Is this how they demonstrate loyalty? They certainly won’t see me charging here again. Sheesh.

Sigh.
Which charger are you talking about, SPECIFICALLY. They are all different. There is no one set rate, either for Rivian chargers or Tesla chargers or EA chargers etc. Choose the cheaper one if price is your primary consideration. But no one is ripping you off.

I just did a quick look at 10 RAN chargers in the greater New England area where you are. This is what I see, for the first 10 chargers I picked off the map (I did not select just the cheapest or anything like that, just chose 10 different chargers).

All the RAN sites in NE, except for one, are open to all vehicles, not just Rivians.
All have different prices for Rivians vs other vehicles. (That's your "loyalty" discount)

Rivian-specific prices are:
$0.51
$0.52
$0.52
$0.54
$0.59
$0.33 - $0.47 (time of day pricing)
$0.37 - $0.53 (time of day pricing)
$0.37 - $0.53 (time of day pricing)
$0.42 - $0.55 (time of day pricing)
$0.42 - $0.56 (time of day pricing)

Some of those are better than others, but none are as high as the $0.60 you quoted.
A lot of them are cheaper than the Tesla and ChargePoint rates you quoted, at times.

It's easy to cherry-pick and say RAN is more expensive. But choosing just one number and jumping to a conclusion is not valid reasoning.

 

[shamoo]

Sigh.
Which charger are you talking about, SPECIFICALLY. They are all different. There is no one set rate, either for Rivian chargers or Tesla chargers or EA chargers etc. Choose the cheaper one if price is your primary consideration. But no one is ripping you off.

Since the price increase on RAN, I've never seen it any less than 60 cents. It used to be 36 cents all the time.

Yes, Tesla has variable rates too, but the most expensive I've seen is 50something cents. In the rare times I charge (usually between SoCal and Vegas in the desert), Tesla is usually 40 cents or less which isn't bad. And there are literally hundreds of empty stalls. RAN has maybe 5-6 stalls a couple blocks away.

 

[VSG]

Since the price increase on RAN, I've never seen it any less than 60 cents. It used to be 36 cents all the time.

I mean, your perspective is SoCal. I don't think anyone would agree that is representative of the rest of the country when it comes to electricity prices.

My point is that these things are highly variable and you can't make a blanket conclusion based on one personal localized experience, because other places are far different.

I was just continuing my browsing of RAN prices, and here's another one:
Charlotte, NC: $0.27 - $0.38 (time based pricing)
(and BTW, there is a Tesla Supercharger in the same parking lot that charges $0.29 - $0.55, which is much more expensive).

So again, really depends on where you are, and it's easy to disprove a blanket generalization like "RAN is always more expensive".

Yes, Tesla has variable rates too, but the most expensive I've seen is 50something cents

Again, SoCal is probably not the most representative region.

 

[SwampNut]

Oddly, southern CA charging costs are not as wildly high as their home rates. It can sometimes be cheaper to public charge than home charge.

All of my driving is around AZ, NV, and both southern and northern CA. Tesla is consistently better in every way.

Cheaper, often by 40%.
Commonly shaded spots (solar panels).
Near better facilities and stores.

 

[azbill]

RAN is too expensive and they will have to bring down prices to be competitive. They are the most expensive in AZ. Almost every site they have here has competition, which is cheaper.

In Quartzsite, EA and Tesla are both $0.42/kwh with memberships (0.56 without), RAN is $0.61 for Rivian and $0.71 for non-Rivian. Ionna is going to build a site there right by the RAN and they are $0.42 at another AZ site, without any membership. I charged at the Tesla site there a few weeks ago with my Mach E and I saw a Rivian pulling out, Tesla has 84 chargers so there is never any line. The RAN site looked empty when I drove by. I will not pay 50% extra, just because it has the Rivian name on it.

 

[blturner]

RAN and much of the public charging has disconnected from gas prices. I think this is a mistake as most EV owners have an ICE option. The stations will never turn a profit when prices can be double or more gas prices.
Many potential EV buyers will stick with ICE if they can't road trip for a similar price.
The chargers also don't seem to make any rapid changes to compete price wise with nearby chargers like gas stations do. Paying twice as much for gas a block away would be laughable but I have seen it with chargers.

 

[John.S]

I have also found RAN to be about 25% more than Tesla's cheapest price here in NorCal.
I have a Tesla Plan and the early morning rate is $ 0.31 which is the same rate as my Home plan from PG&E. So I can charge at night at Home 8-10 hrs or at the Supercharger 1.2 miles away (80KW in 36 Min) same price. ( but between March and Oct I charge at home as the Solar Pannels are dumping to PG&E .

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Whine. Whine. Whine. Facts: DCFC is almost always more expensive than home charging. And cost depends partly on the grid and local utility that powers it, along with their commercial rates (plus lease of real estate). Charging cost also vary by time of day; on/off peak. And whatever cost you are used to, and using as frame of reference, is not universal… since that utility does not service entire nation from coast to coast. In many markets 50-60 ¢ is normal peak rate. Whatever caused you to think EVs are cheaper to “refuel” than ICE, you didn’t do your research thoroughly. RAN is also a much smaller network than others. Thus lower capitalization and higher operating cost per location. Plus, the company is consistently trying to reduce CAPEX, not loose more $. For now, RAN is essentially a side project and marketing tool (like a roadside billboard). And… no one is forcing you to use it.

 

[badger4149]

Was very happy to discover a RAN charging station on my recent trip. Arrived and all six chargers were available. Was thrilled until I discovered Rivian charging $.60/Kw!! No wonder no one is charging here. Right down the street Telsa is $.51 and ChargePoint $.47. Why am I getting ripped off by my own car company? Is this how they demonstrate loyalty? They certainly won’t see me charging here again. Sheesh.

I completely agree. Tesla is consistently cheaper than RAN even without a Tesla membership, and even for Rivian owners. I use RAN as a last resort.

 

[JoeP50]

I’ll pay extra to not have to deal with lines and give Tesla any money. An extra hour of my life and no extra frustration dealing with half-baked apps, broken chargers, and other tech issues on a road trip is worth $10 to me.

Same, and F Elon.

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