Who’s using EVgo and why - unreasonably expensive

[azbill]

This discussion would be mute if we could just use an adapter at the tesla superchargers. I have tried to charge at 3 different non tesla dcfc and failed charge at all of them. Scares me to go to far in my rivian. Have driven from Missouri to Florida and back in my model 3 with zero issues. Every Tesla charger worked at full capacity and we were on our way.

I had a Tesla charger only give me 34kw, had to move to another charger, so just like the EA experience. I have actually never had an EVGO charger give me a very low power output, but I have seen broken units.

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[TexasBob]

I don't know how much this impacts things, but both EA and EVGo claims to purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs) for all power used, which would locally influence per-kWh pricing as well, depending on the local commodity market for RECs. There's a lot going into the pricing scheme so who knows just how much this changes things in the short term.

100% Renewable plans in Houston - fixed rate no TOU - are under 14 cents for residential customers. I just signed a five year fixed rate contract for a small business I own here for under 8 cents plus T&D charges (currently 4 cents).

 

[CharonPDX]

If I have the option between an EVgo 150+ kW station and an EA station, I'll pick the EVgo. They've been *FAR* more reliable lately. But make sure you're getting a newer 150kW+ station - EVgo does have older 50kW stations that many of them are falling apart. (Those were "leased hardware, run by another entity" locations; the 150/350kW locations are almost all run by EVgo directly.)

If you're taking a long road trip, the $13 membership with EVgo pays for itself in savings. EVgo is also supposed to support plug and charge for Rivian though I could not get plug and charge to work at the two stations I visited.

Yeah, both EVgo and EA's memberships pay for themselves in one "full" charge session.

EVgo's "Plug and Charge" (or "Autocharge+" as they call it,) isn't using the official CCS "Plug and Charge" protocol. It's their own custom thing, which is why vehicles that don't support CCS Plug and Charge can work with EVgo Autocharge+. it's also less secure than proper CCS P&C. When setting it up, make absolutely sure you pick the correct charger/handle; and to be safe, I'd do it only when I was the only vehicle at the station. (It simply pairs your EVgo account with the vehicle plugged in to the charge port you say is you in the app - if you pick the wrong charge port, you could add someone else's vehicle to your account! And it does the linking by vehicle "network port address" which can be spoofed with the right equipment, where proper CCS P&C uses a key exchange mechanism that can't be spoofed.)

That all said, it works great. And because of its "simpler" authentication method, it starts up a lot faster than proper CCS P&C. (Which, by its nature, requires multiple steps of two-way communication both between station & vehicle, and station & internet.)

 

[CharonPDX]

I had a Tesla charger only give me 34kw, had to move to another charger, so just like the EA experience. I have actually never had an EVGO charger give me a very low power output, but I have seen broken units.

I had it happen exactly once - I plugged in at 7%, was drawing only 15kW on a 350kW stall. Moved to another stall, and got 200kW+. Called EVgo support just to make sure it wasn't a site-wide problem (and to get my $1-per-session fee waived) and of course got the "charge speeds can vary based on many factors, including your vehicle…."

"No, it's not my vehicle, I should be getting 150kW+, not 15."

"Yeah, but depending on the exact conditions…"

"Yes, I know. It's not the conditions, it's the charger. Please make sure there aren't any problems with the other chargers. No? Okay, well, report that THIS one has a problem."

 

[RedRaiderRivian]

TLDR EVGo sucks. Massively overpriced, unreliable, poj network.

Well, I will never do that again. I took my first (and last) road trip in my new R1T yesterday - 550 miles from Houston to Dallas and back. Have done that trip countless times in my Teslas. No big deal.

Don't give up yet. I have traveled from San Antonio to Houston, Dallas, Abilene and Texarkana in my R1T. I have found the EA 150kwh units to be very reliable even in 100+ degree heat last summer. The older 350 kwh units are suspect as I had one derate on me 2 weeks ago when the temp was 45 degrees outside. Things are rapidly improving across all of the charging networks and though I am looking forward to be able to access Tesla chargers, I think there will be issues once all the brands can use them.

 

[Aardvark]

I'm also one of those who will sign up for a more premium account on EA and EVGo before long road trips, usually I-70 or I-80 from Colorado to the east coast. It only takes a few charging stops to save more than the monthly fee.
One word of caution, however. The new EVGo stations at Flying J rest stops, partly funded by NEVI grants, are under the GM Energy Network. These locations are usually a very expensive 59 cents/kWh and do not recognize EVGo premium plans. They are convenient and great in a pinch, but expensive.

 

[Riviaenz]

I'm also one of those who will sign up for a more premium account on EA and EVGo before long road trips, usually I-70 or I-80 from Colorado to the east coast. It only takes a few charging stops to save more than the monthly fee.
One word of caution, however. The new EVGo stations at Flying J rest stops, partly funded by NEVI grants, are under the GM Energy Network. These locations are usually a very expensive 59 cents/kWh and do not recognize EVGo premium plans. They are convenient and great in a pinch, but expensive.

Something I’ve learned is that for EA they sometimes don’t recognize your Pass+ membership for at least a day. I had an issue where for an impromptu trip I signed up the day of the trip and all EA sessions that same day and next day weren’t given the discount. The upside is EA customer support was available and they confirmed my sign up and gave me a refund for the discount which amounted to >$28.

Further aggravating my EVgo experience is even emailing their director of customer service as encouraged to do by @EVgo has been like sending a message into a black hole.

 

[Riviaenz]

Since starting this thread I’m seeing many more people complaining about EVgo‘s high $/kWhr rates on r/Rivian and the other Rivian forum with lots more jumping in on how much they also avoid EVgo. We’ve gone on 5 road trips towing since my shocking experience with EVgo. It’s easy to skip over and completely avoid EVgo. I imagine it’ll not be any consequence now that Tesla SC are open to Rivian and from the looks of their rates, they are competitive. In our case using Rivian, EA, EC, Flo, ChargePoint, BP, and Shell all at a fraction of the cost of EVgo have made roadtripping a breeze.

I was hopeful that having been contacted directly by someone from EVgo to follow up regarding my experience there might be reason to give them a try again. Instead, after sharing details with them including location, date, and time with photos they’ve gone silent.

 

[VSG]

Since starting this thread I’m seeing many more people complaining about EVgo‘s high $/kWhr rates on r/Rivian and the other Rivian forum with lots more jumping in on how much they also avoid EVgo. We’ve gone on 5 road trips towing since my shocking experience with EVgo. It’s easy to skip over and completely avoid EVgo. I imagine it’ll not be any consequence now that Tesla SC are open to Rivian and from the looks of their rates, they are competitive. In our case using Rivian, EA, EC, Flo, ChargePoint, BP, and Shell all at a fraction of the cost of EVgo have made roadtripping a breeze.

EVGo has always been priced higher than others. But in my limited charging experience with EVGo it has always worked without the drama you will sometimes get at EA.

I set up EVGo and Autocharge+ just so I would have the option if I needed it. That required doing a couple of short charging sessions at EVGo. I have only needed to do a full charge once, when it was the best option. Regardless, I have never paid anywhere near $1.30 per kWh.

What I paid in my last two sessions at EVGo was:

• $0.99 session fee + $0.49/kWh. Total of $13.91 for 26.365 kWh.
• $0.35 per minute + tax. Total of $6.41 for 45.076 kWh (!) (Charger RENZ in SLC, UT - they have since switched this to be per kWh pricing rather than per minute pricing. But still only $.052/kWh at the time of day I had charged there last summer ...)

EVGo has time-of-day based rates, so choosing to charge at the "wrong" time of day can also cost you a lot more.

But I NEVER plan to stop at a charger without first checking out its reliability and its rates. And yes, I have rejected and avoided chargers because their rates were ridiculous - these are chargers from all the different brands (EVGo, EA, and even Tesla). The important factor is not the brand apparently - there are certain locations where everyone will rip you off.

Also be aware that some stations are independently owned - the owner sets the price, not the brand. ChargePoint stations are like this.

I imagine it’ll not be any consequence now that Tesla SC are open to Rivian and from the looks of their rates, they are competitive.

That's a really, really poor assumption.

While Tesla rates are competitive in some locations, even lower than others in some locations, Tesla ALSO will rip you off at certain chargers.

Here in Washington, I will happily use the Tesla Supercharger in George, WA at $0.32/kWh (which was only $0.25 last time I was there, BTW), but I will avoid at all costs the Tesla Supercharger in Cle Elum, WA at $0.51/kWh.

Really, it's less about the brand than about the location. I have been ripped off at gasoline stations before; For example the last gas station before the airport in Orlando, where they want to charge you $6/gallon when the gas station a block farther away is half the price. Clearly a ripoff preying on people returning rental cars. That's why you check ahead of time. (PS Do not use this gas station! https://maps.app.goo.gl/8ewreXB21HHe7fUt7)

 

[ksurfier]

In summary, EV(dont)GO...

 

[VSG]

In summary, EV(dont)GO...

No ... in short, caveat emptor, just like every other single fucking purchase on the planet.

 

[ndmiller]

I used an EVGO subsidized charger in a walmart parking lot in TN on my drip to Knoxville. $0.20 a minute was an absolute steal. Prices vary widely, I hit a GMcharger by EA and it was $.35/KW, 3 times the price of the EVGO I found. A little planning goes a long way.

 

[KRG]

I’m completely new to non Tesla charging networks since I just got the Rivian and have not taken any trips. Searching the OC area, it seems like the EVGo chargers are not any more expensive than the others?? It also seems like, they’re mostly 250 vs 150 for EA, so they seem like the better choice outside Tesla. What am I missing…

 

[VSG]

It also seems like, they’re mostly 250 vs 150 for EA, so they seem like the better choice outside Tesla.

You're not going to see a huge difference between 150kW chargers and higher-powered chargers. Mainly because:

• Rivians can't charge any faster than about 220kW. Regardless of charger speed. And Rivians can only support this charging rate up to about 45% battery capacity, after which the charging speed decreases (similar to *all* other EVs).
• EA 150 kW chargers can deliver *much* more than 150kW. I have seen anywhere between 165kW and 192kW from the nominally 150kW EA chargers.

Charging stations have variable prices - it's not all about the brand, but like gas stations it's largely about the location. Some places charge more, some places charge less.

EVGo *does* seem to uniformly charge more ON AVERAGE, but that does not mean a particular station charges more or less than the average price you might see elsewhere.

But I will say that EVGo does tend to have MORE price variation than places like EA, because EA seems to enforce nationwide uniform pricing to some extent. (Which you will NEVER see from gasoline stations, BTW.)

 

[TexasBob]

Rivian (and other automakers) needs to offer to these station operators a way to feed real-time pricing and availability data to the nav screen. If they provide it, they can get a chance to have priority on the routing (as long as they are cheapest, fastest, and available when the system routes you to the next stop). Don't provide it, they get a big question mark on the screen for pricing and the black dot of unknown availability.

The surprise billing on chargers is getting as bad as going to the emergency room for "in-network" only to discover a bunch of random ripoff uncharges and surprises. But really, who cares? Lectron adapter is on its way. EVGo is for sad people who don't drive Rivians or Fords or Teslas. Lol

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