EVgo DC chargers were horrible up until the beginning of 2018. They're still not perfect, but improvement is being made.

[GetOffYourGas]

... I expected it to disconnect after 45 minutes, but it went for the full 60...

Session length for California plan participants depends on time of day;

"Membership and Pay as You Go drivers can charge up to 45 minutes at DC fast chargers. As a bonus, those with an EVgo Membership plan can charge up to 60 minutes during “off-peak” hours (charges that initiate between 8:00 pm and 5:59 am local time). Level 2 charges have no time limit."

Not sure if this applies in all states.

I believe it does apply in all states. I know it applies in New York, as I have benefited from the 60-minute charge limit when I plugged in at 8:15, but usually get cut off after 45 minutes (same charger).

[SparkE]

I would also appreciate some additional detail. When ChargePoint 'forum user' says "all ChargePoint DCFC stations on I-5", does that mean all the stations in the CEC plan, from Yreka in the North (near the Oregon border) down to Santa Clarita in the south?

If so, there appear to be 16 new ChargePoint stations on I-5 in the CEC plan - all 16 will be active by October 2018?

Well, it's Sep 26th (almost "by Oct") and the ChargePoint app/map doesn't show any new DCFCs along I-5 in Calif ("new" meaning "since 2017 when the 50 kW unit was installed in Redding"). Also, many, many (?most?) of the public 24 kW DCFCs along northern I-5 and southern US-101 have been taken off-line.

Any comment(s) from ChargePoint ?? I have gone to their web site to look for official notices on the status of these stations...

Well, it appears that the new 50 kW ChargePoint in Yreka is now live - I am basing that on the fact that the ChargePoint app shows it as being available. There are no other new DCFC stations on I-5 that I can see in the CP app. That would be the most logical one to start with - 50 kW site on I-5 closest to the OR border.

More good news is that two ChargePoint 50 kW DCFCs have appeared this year on north US-101 (near-ish to Eureka, CA) as part of the CEC plan. That opens up the northern CA Pacific coast to long-range EVs (well, the Bolt). Unfortunately, they appear to be individual units whereas the CEC plan has two units at each site at those locations.

Edit: Hmmmm. PlugShare has a picture of the DCFC location in Loleta (on northern US-101, near Arcata) and it shows 2 units. The CP app only lists one. Bizarre.

[JoeS]

Just returned from a 600-mile round trip from the SF Bay Area to Lake Tahoe in a non-Bolt (62-mile EPA range Mitsubishi i-MiEV with CHAdeMO). Just want to report that all but two of the 20 stations I used were EVgo dual-port (CCS and CHAdeMO) and they were all available and functioned perfectly! Like I've said before, I've never had an issue with EVgo hardware and now, with their revised rate structure, I consider them quite reasonable. Before leaving I called them up and changed over to their monthly membership plan and asked them a few questions and they were really nice and responsive over the phone. Hey, credit where credit is due!

[SparkE]

Yeah, it appears that EVgo's new "subscription" plan is "no contract" (you can switch out whenever you want, you don't have to stay for a year) - but I could be wrong. If that is true, it's worthwhile switching to their subscription plan just before a road trip in an EV ; the $10 monthly fee covers the first $10 worth of charging each month, and the per-minute rate is 25% lower (not to mention, the 'connection session' can be 15 minutes longer!)

The route SF Bay Area <-> Reno/Tahoe is *saturated* with EVgo chargers, making the trip stress-free in even a 60-mile-range EV.

[GetOffYourGas]

Yeah, it appears that EVgo's new "subscription" plan is "no contract" (you can switch out whenever you want, you don't have to stay for a year) - but I could be wrong. If that is true, it's worthwhile switching to their subscription plan just before a road trip in an EV ; the $10 monthly fee covers the first $10 worth of charging each month, and the per-minute rate is 25% lower (not to mention, the 'connection session' can be 15 minutes longer!)

Yes, that is true. I signed up for a few months in the summer, and cancelled when the kids went back to school. I will sign up again for the Thanksgiving/Christmas season since we travel a lot then too.

Overall, it's a much more customer-friendly setup than before.

[BarfOMatic]

I would also appreciate some additional detail. When ChargePoint 'forum user' says "all ChargePoint DCFC stations on I-5", does that mean all the stations in the CEC plan, from Yreka in the North (near the Oregon border) down to Santa Clarita in the south?

If so, there appear to be 16 new ChargePoint stations on I-5 in the CEC plan - all 16 will be active by October 2018?

Well, it's Sep 26th (almost "by Oct") and the ChargePoint app/map doesn't show any new DCFCs along I-5 in Calif ("new" meaning "since 2017 when the 50 kW unit was installed in Redding"). Also, many, many (?most?) of the public 24 kW DCFCs along northern I-5 and southern US-101 have been taken off-line.

Any comment(s) from ChargePoint ?? I have gone to their web site to look for official notices on the status of these stations...

Well, it appears that the new 50 kW ChargePoint in Yreka is now live - I am basing that on the fact that the ChargePoint app shows it as being available. There are no other new DCFC stations on I-5 that I can see in the CP app. That would be the most logical one to start with - 50 kW site on I-5 closest to the OR border.

More good news is that two ChargePoint 50 kW DCFCs have appeared this year on north US-101 (near-ish to Eureka, CA) as part of the CEC plan. That opens up the northern CA Pacific coast to long-range EVs (well, the Bolt). Unfortunately, they appear to be individual units whereas the CEC plan has two units at each site at those locations.

Edit: Hmmmm. PlugShare has a picture of the DCFC location in Loleta (on northern US-101, near Arcata) and it shows 2 units. The CP app only lists one. Bizarre.

Well, it's Oct 29th (definitely "by Oct", and almost "by Nov") ...

On I-5 N of Sacramento (going N to South), new ChargePoint 50 kW DCFC have gone live at :
- Yreka (in Sep)
- Weed (early Oct)
- Mt Shasta (today! Oct 29)
- Dunsmuir ??? (not sure if on or not - appears to be installed)

The ones at Lakehead, Anderson, Red Bluff, and Dunnigan don't appear to be ready yet. The new sites off I-80 at Vacaville and Fairfield aren't up either.

On I-5 S of Sacramento ,
- TWO ChargePoint 50 kW DCFCs have gone live at Gustine (near Los Banos, about 60 mi south of Manteca, 110 S of Sac).

The CEC-funded ChargePoint sites on I-5 "South" at Coalinga, Buttonwillow, Wheeleer Ridge, Lebec, Castaic, Castaic Junction, and Humphreys still aren't live.

Slowly but surely ...

[SparkE]

Excerpt from https://electricrevs.com/2018/10/31/evg ... oween-eve/ . (which is about the Baker site upgrading to 350 kW) :

"EVgo had begun life in 2010 as a brand created by NRG Energy. NRG was a Texas electric utility that got caught up in California’s electricity trading market crisis of 2000-2001 that resulted in rotating brown-outs and allegations of corruption among power plant operators. In a 2012 legal settlement with the CPUC, NRG agreed to build and operate over 200 fast DC charging stations throughout California."

[BoltEV]

Excerpt from https://electricrevs.com/2018/10/31/evg ... oween-eve/ . (which is about the Baker site upgrading to 350 kW) :

"EVgo had begun life in 2010 as a brand created by NRG Energy. NRG was a Texas electric utility that got caught up in California’s electricity trading market crisis of 2000-2001 that resulted in rotating brown-outs and allegations of corruption among power plant operators. In a 2012 legal settlement with the CPUC, NRG agreed to build and operate over 200 fast DC charging stations throughout California."

Yes: Governor Brown took a ten year old lemon (stalled civil litigation) and turned it into lemonade for the growth of EV charging infrastructure in California.

http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/General.aspx?id=5936

[summit]

So is the current more sane EVgo pricing also the result of CA pressure ?

BTWay, stopped for a charge at Chargepoint HQ and their new EVSE station showed 51kw rate into a BoltEV. I was told that the version will also be way more reliable than the current 50kw station. But they are a bit behind production.

[keijidosha]

Excerpt from https://electricrevs.com/2018/10/31/evg ... oween-eve/ . (which is about the Baker site upgrading to 350 kW) :

"EVgo 350 kW charging site sparks to life on Halloween Eve"

The Baker site still shows off-line --> https://www.plugshare.com/location/157532