While the recent switch by Car Charging Group, Inc. (CarCharging) to a better usage-based pricing model for their Blink Network commercial charging stations is a positive step for their users, the hidden price increase included in the new pricing model is a bad decision for the battery-electric vehicle industry (EV industry.)

How does it affect the EV industry, and why should you care?  Because it will deter potential new drivers from getting electric vehicles.  And, it completely takes advantage of current and new EV drivers who do not have the ability to charge their vehicles at home using their own power, such as myself.  This point especially affects electric vehicles with driving ranges on the low end of the scale, such as the Nissan LEAF and Ford Focus Electric, as they are sold under the premise that the driver should recharge them every night.  The EV industry is still very new, and very fragile.  It is up to companies such as CarCharging, to do everything possible to help hasten the transition to electric vehicles, instead of seeking profits during these early years.

The Fine Print: Blink Network Level 2 charging stations previously used a per-hour pricing model, and for Level 3 "quick charge" stations, a flat fee for a single charge.  For Blink Members (free membership), the per-hour pricing was $1.00, and the Level 3 flat fee was $5.00.  Effective September 2, 2014, the pricing structure for Level 2 is $0.39 to $0.79 per kWh or .04 to .06 per minute, and Level 3 fees at $0.49 to $0.69 per kWh or $6.99 to $9.99 in time-based usage states (lower rates generally being for Blink Members.)  In contrast, the average kWh price for commercial electricity in the continental U.S. ranged from $0.10 to $0.15 as of June 2014.

What do all these numbers mean?  They roughly translate to a price increase of more than 200% for users of Blink Level 2 commercial charging stations.  And to put it simply, for many drivers, it is now more expensive for them to charge their highly-efficient electric vehicles than to fuel a 40+ mpg gasoline vehicle (for equivalent miles.)

CarCharging is selling electricity via their Blink Network public charging stations to charge electric vehicles, and has now increased its fees exponentially while electricity rates across the United States have not increased at the same pace.  While these stations are considered a convenience, and it is reasonable to expect that companies such as CarCharging should be able to make a profit at some point, their new pricing model has already upset existing drivers of electric vehicles and may deter new ones, even with partially-subsidzed charging initiatives such as EZ-Charge.

This petition is requesting CarCharging maintain the current per-kWh and smaller time increment billing structure for the Blink Network of commercial charging stations, but reverse the price increases included with that new structure.  It is further requested of them to re-think this pricing model (and perhaps their business model), and create new pricing that does not contain an increase of more than 25% of today's Blink Network rates, as translated to the new per-kWh and time increment billing structure.