SOUTH JORDAN, Utah — Larry Caldwell recently bought his first electric vehicle.
“So far, I love it,” he said. “A lot of fun to drive. A lot quicker than anything I’ve driven before.”
Keeping the battery charged can be confusing.
“There’s a lot of ambiguity, right?” Caldwell said. “You’ll see what the pump or the station tells you versus what’s actually going into your car. Those don’t always match up.”
Dallin Gale, co-founder of a Utah Tesla owners’ group on Facebook, normally charges at home, but wouldn’t mind government inspections of commercial charging stations.
“Because it’s not like a gas station,” he said.
Some chargers bill the customers based on how much time their cars are plugged in; others bill for each kilowatt transferred from the charger, through the cord and into the car.
But while Utah requires annual inspections of gasoline pumps, it doesn’t require regular inspections of commercial charging stations, nor are there any special consumer laws electric vehicle owners can turn to if they think they’ve been cheated.
“If I were a business and I owned an electric vehicle fueling station, I want to make sure my competitors are held to the same rules that I am,” said Tina Butcher, a scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
It’s a federal agency that just published standards for electric vehicle charging stations — should anyone want to inspect them.
“They will become effective in January 2023,” Butcher said, “for those states that decide to adopt and implement them.”
California has already adopted rules that require commercial charging stations have easy-to-read displays, clear pricing and which allows for regular inspections.
Utah hasn’t begun inspections. Bailee Woolstenhulme, a spokesperson for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, which includes the Weights and Measures Program, said in an email to FOX 13 News that it has the authority to inspect EV chargers, but it would need the Utah Legislature to fund inspectors and tools.
So, what can drivers do right now if they think they're being shortchanged at the charger?
“It's possible that maybe there's some inaccuracies, but it's also possible that the customer is misunderstanding how a charging system works,” said John Kelly, a professor in Weber State University’s Department of Automotive Technology.
First, understand what’s being charged, Kelly said. If it’s a hot or cold day, the car may be using electricity just to get the battery the right temperature. Running the car or playing the stereo while the car is charging is going to consume power, too.
“So, it's very possible to use more power than your battery actually holds while you're sitting at a charging station,” Kelly said.
If you really think a charging station is shorting you, you can start complaining by calling the telephone number on the station, or try communicating with the provider over its phone app.
“If [that’s] not possible, or they aren't able to resolve their concern to their satisfaction,” Butcher said, “then we would recommend that they follow up with their state weights and measures program.”
Those who feel the station has been deceptive or defective can try making a complaint to the Utah Division of Consumer Protection.
Drivers like Caldwell, even if they aren’t aware of widespread problems at charging stations, favor inspections.
“Anytime somebody can make a quick buck,” Caldwell said, “they’re going to, which is why we need some sort of regulation.”