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<\/p>\nElectrify America has announced plans to upgrade 600 chargers across 130 cities in California, as per its latest \u201cCycle 4\u201d regional investment plan. The network’s reputation isn’t really exemplary when it comes to charging experience \u2013 it ranked below the Tesla Supercharger, Charge Point, and EVgo in JD Power\u2019s 2023 Customer Satisfaction Index, and has acknowledged the need for improvement in its latest announcement.<\/p>\n
EV charging stations, like any machines or devices, require replacement and maintenance for a few simple reasons like degradation from regular use, safety concerns, possible environmental damage when they\u2019re located outdoors, and more importantly, to keep up with technological advancements.<\/p>\n
Electrify America installed the first tranche of its charging stations back in 2018, during what the company calls Cycle 1 and Cycle 2 of its expansion plans. Those chargers have now approached the end of their useful life in 2023. Electrify America mentioned \u201cwear and tear\u201d on the hardware, which negatively impacted charger reliability and charging experience for EV owners.<\/p>\n
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JD Power’s 2023 Public Charging Study puts Electrify America behind rivals in terms of quality of charging experience. Infographic: JD Power<\/p>\n
Electrify America will continue addressing this issue as it has in the past by investing approximately $172 million in charging infrastructure in California. $80M has been allocated for the upgrades and maintenance of existing sites, and $92M for expansion. Before replacing the chargers, it will examine factors such as the age of the charger, utilization rates, uptime performance, number and type of work orders, customer sentiment, location on key travel routes, parts availability, and serviceability.<\/p>\n