Happy Earth Day! (NOT)

So the VW dealer I started charging at had a surprise in store for me yesterday.

All in time for Earth Day 2015.

 It was all a low key footprint I was leaving there, in basically 2 neglected level 2 plugs I scouted and started charging at.

Then I noticed a VW plugin also there yesterday, but besides that most days the place was deserted and unused and I was the one who started to use it regularly.

They sell electric cars too and VW seem an ally of BMW in promoting those cars and creating the infrastructure for them, so it is a logical step for a dealer to have a bunch of chargers and promote them.

But apparently we may be also facing price gouging once the amount of BEVs reaches a critical threshold vs. the infrastructure. And I would deifne gouging as charging for electricity more than for an equivalent in gasoline...

I might as well bring my own gasoline generator and start it up next to my electric car while I am parked on the street for free.

Once I finished my charge per chargepoint card yesterday I noticed the screen was showing a strange "VW RESERVATIONS" screen, and when for kicks I tried my chargepoint card it showed an error.

Mmmm I wondered. I asked an employee there, who was very friendly but he was puzzled too.

Then finally last night I saw what happened...


Thanks a lot... so if I charge 4 hours + $5 access fee I am looking at $20 bucks(the max on their little panel above).

For 18 Kwhr on average. Even charging those 50 cents each would be a mere $9. And those are premium spots near store prices (eg Blink network).

Bad business sense... I will find other ways. I understand one has to pay for electricity but not outrageous prices that make gasoline appealing again to the people who make that comparison.

Of course electric cars have a slew of advantages on goop from the ground burning contraptions.

And the reservation system is also nice but not at $5 a pop.

In comparison the BMW Dealer in Murrieta charges just 10 cents a kwhr and this after 1/2 hr, which must be the going commercial electricity rate.

They do a good job promoting electric vehicles, that VW dealer doesn't for sure.

Parking in Santa Monica is free for electric cars even on metered parking, and there are other charging stations around. Those prices are ludicrous.

But this is a warning sign: Charging electric cars requires more energy than a household, even if the effect of the fleet is negligible on the actual electric consumption, but it will be pretext to overcharge.

Have an emergency where you have 2 miles of range left? You gonna pay a LOT for it.

Plugin your car at home? The energy company will have squads of investigators ready to make sure you pay $1 per kwhr for that energy.

Remember the markup on text messaging? we may be witnessing the same phenomenon i.e 10 cents per kwhr paid by the party that provides electricity at almost $1.

Not bad for a 900% markup while being a simple middleman.

Mobility is wonderful and is also addicting, and electric cars are addicting, but they do not deserve to be exploited as a cash cow simply because there is no energy based justification for it.

And it will backfire... people will switch to solar powered carports. Will use level 1 trickle charging.

Human behavior is infinitely adaptable in the face of antagonistic pressures like above... heck this is why I chose to go full on electric to begin with. In spite of what the oil conglomerates want me to do.

Trying to gouge this crowd is a failure. It might have worked for text messaging and its low price but it won't when EV users are faced with paying more for electricity than for gas.

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