David Laughlin on LinkedIn: RE+ is just around the corner. Excited to see what is coming and the… (2024)

Enough is enough, I'm calling outUK Power Networksfor the utter shambles that has been the resolution of a simple issue.For over a year I have had high volts on my supply in excess of 253v having seen peaks of 255/256v and hovering around 248v most days, especially during summer months.UKPN were made aware, several engineers have visited, data logger installed and high volts confirmed and promised a tap change.Roll on to a year later and nothing has changed. Excuses include that a tap change has already happened (why wasn't it confirmed to have resolved the issue if that was the case?) and that a new development has affected it - also rubbish.Luckily, impact has been minimal as my classic EV charge point ignores voltage issues. However, having replaced my EV charge point with a Wallbox ChargersPulsar Max, the voltage issue really kicked off.Unbeknownst to me and not included with any of the documentation, the Pulsar has software PEN protection designed to trip at 248v making it nearly impossible to charge my cars.Wallbox refuses to help and blames UKPN.UKPN blames Wallbox.I'm essentially stuck in a 5v grey zone.Nonetheless, UKPN still needs to resolve high volts and a complaint has been raised with little interest from them - 8 weeks then it's Ombudsman and Ofgem.In the meantime I've had to return the Wallbox and go back to the classic charger - it's unlikely they'll accept the refund and nearly £500 wasted.Moral of the story, high volts? Don't buy Wallbox.

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With cost, policy and consumer concerns tempering growth in #EV adoption across Europe, public charging demand may be lower than expected in the next few years. Yet #ChargePoint installations continue at record rates, spurred on by willing investors, ‘land grabbing’, supportive policy, and broader sentiments of charger insufficiency.What will this mean for charge point operators as demand continues to develop? How to secure utilization and be profitable in an increasingly competitive market, for example through pricing strategies and more disciplined approaches to building and managing charger portfolios? Will overcapacity force a reckoning and consolidation? If so, who will win out and how?Click here to read through our model for #forecastingEV charging demand:🚗 https://lnkd.in/eCYphkCV#RolandBerger

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Happy savings season, colleagues! 💡🌱 Have you considered that by unplugging those hidden energy consumers like unused chargers and electronics, you could trim down your electric bill? Embrace simplicity and enjoy the savings! It's a smart move to channel those funds into a family savings plan. 🌳💚 #EnergySavings #FamilyFirst

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It is great news - I’ve changed to answering the sceptics who suggest “infrastructure-isn’t-there” with a simple Yes, it is.But we all know it’s about:Getting the right sort of charging experience in the right sort of placeEnsuring that they are discoverable and visible (the latter as much for PR to the non-EV drivers who have yet to transition)Being reliable and being transparent about what this means (some “lesser” CPOs just cover up their units and seem to pretend this does not count for “Reliability” - in the face of user perceptions)Hugely important is the SAFETY and ACCESSIBILTY for all users - the sort of thing that I’m proud to be involved in with ChargeSafe - which the vast majority of CPOs, like InstaVolt, are working hard to achieve and also look at those legacy units that went in at the start of the Gold RushWe have some fantastic technology to enable EV charging to work both at destination and on journey for the humble userWe need some nudges and education to help people transition with all the tools that make it so easy for those who have gone beforeWe need the cost of charging to be more relateable. I don’t mind paying for a reliable, speedy electron hit, but a slow trickle shouldn’t be prohibitive

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The UK recently smashed through the 50k chargers milestone - with year-on-year growth running at 43% - and aprediction that 100,000 chargers will be in place as early as August 2025.These are fantastic figures and a great reflection of the momentum that continues to build within the industry. But I also fully agree with the sentiment from Zapmap that it isn’t just about the numbers - it’s about the customer experience when charging too.Drivers need chargers to be easy to use, accessible, located in all the right places, and to have confidence that they will find them in good working order. That’s one of the reasons why reliability is top of our priority list here at InstaVolt. We're proudto not only be the UK’s largest rapid public charging network, but also to consistently be rated amongst the most reliable.#evchargers #charginginfrastructure #evs #electricvehicles

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https://lnkd.in/g5rVAFWZPerfect summary for the challenges ahead: “What was different here was this was a new type of electric use,” said Kellen Schefter, of the Edison Electric Institute. “That’s a really big power requirement in a parking lot.” That need could be met relatively quickly if the transmission lines in the area have spare capacity. In areas of the grid that don’t, upgrades can take years.This is where Rhythmos.io continues to move the industry beyond traditional #managedchargingsolutions, adding a fully optimized distribution asset optimization platform that starts with the #transformer as the first point of potential failure. #evcharging #distributionnetwork #evAdoption

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For those of you not in California and with the patience to sit through a 6 1/2 minute video, here's a walkthrough of a utility bill for my local utility now CCA. Are your utility bills this complicated and messy? https://lnkd.in/gxHAXYNg

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Politico: "Congress provided $7.5B for electric vehicle chargers. Built so far: Zero."https://lnkd.in/gEZMRRfeSome key points in the Politico article:1. Delays are opening opportunities for Republicans who hate the electric vehicle transition to offer bills to kill NEVI funding2. "27 states and D.C. have yet to even start soliciting bids, with some states like Missouri anticipating they may not post their solicitation until 2025." Many states are not prepared to administer the EV funding and bid solicitation programs to meet the NEVI requirements.3. Charger manufacturers are investing in R&D to meet the 97% uptime reliability requirements and have not been ready to meet the requirements.4. Charger manufacturers were not ready to build their equipment with sufficient U.S. manufacturing content to meet the NEVI rules.5. Utilities were not ready to upgrade and connect their grids to the high-voltage DC charger network.6. 2024-2025 should see an increasing buildout of the charger network as states, utilities, and manufacturers solve their implementation problems.

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https://lnkd.in/gHXmWAUm. "Welcome to ElectriciansForums.net - The American Electrical Advice ForumHead straight to the main forums to chat by click here: American Electrical Advice Forum (https://lnkd.in/g8EnRnXs) Just been told about a proposal by some companies to allow them to turn off your power without notice or compensation if the grid is under strain.If they haven't learnt already from the smart meter shambles that its best to leave alone they now want to mess it up again.In theory if too many people are charging electric cars they could turn off yours so it stops charging but also your whole house goes off!Not sure how that would stand up in court if you turned Mrs jones medical machine off and she stops breathing in her sleep! I think turning somebody's power off without notice would likely lead to a few high court challenges.I have long thought ev chargers should have a separate meter like the old eco7 system.Personally, if they made this mandatory and turned mine off, the seal fairy would become very popular and start bypassing the meter!https://lnkd.in/gSiJc22m

𝑫𝒊𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘? 𝑩𝒚 2030, 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 20% 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄 𝒗𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒔.This statistic highlights the growing importance of public charging infrastructure in supporting widespread EV adoption. As more drivers make the switch to electric, accessible and reliable public charging will become increasingly crucial.

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