We were on a road trip and pulled up to an EV Connect kiosk at Daniels Wood Land in Paso Robles as I wanted to show my brother my new favorite stop and its Star Wars scooter. (See the photos in EV Charging: Where it Can Lead You.)
I plugged in and as I was fumbling with my credit card, the car started charging on its on. Whoa, a free session? Not quite. When I got home EV Connect’s receipt for the session was in my mailbox.
What I was missing is that EV Connect is one of the participants in GM’s Autocharge program for the Bolt. I didn’t know this, or had forgotten (an increasing liklihood).
This is the way DC fast charging should be. You pull up, plug in, and begin charging. Tesla had this figured out years ago.
I pulled up the Chevy app and checked. Sure enough EV Connect was listed with EVgo. ChargePoint is also listed as is Flo, a Canadian network.
Tesla is also listed in the Chevy app with a note that an “authorized” NACS DC adapter is required.
Ionna is listed with Tesla but there’s no other information provided. Does this mean the Tesla app will work on Ionna? I don’t have a clue.
Note: It appears that since GM is an investor in Ionna, it’s expected that Ionna will provide Autocharge capability, but there’s so few stations right now I can’t check it out. There’s a station going in near Ashland, Oregon and that will be one of the first on the West Coast. Two others in California. None are close to me.
While software nerds shudder at the thought of using Autocharge and are waiting for Plug & Charge to be widely implemented, drivers of an eight-year old EV design—the Bolt—are pleased as punch to plug in, charge, and go. From what I know—and it isn’t much—the Bolt won’t be compatible with Plug & Charge when it’s finally rolled out. The technology in the Bolt is too old.
Meanwhile, as long as we have the Bolt, we’d like to see more networks use Autocharge. It works for us and makes driving an EV as easy as filling up at a gas station.
