Electrify America will prevent electric car owners from charging to 100%

Despite the expansion of charging infrastructure, public charging points and charging on the go remain two major issues facing electric vehicle owners. Just as range anxiety was once a big problem, charging anxiety may be becoming an even bigger problem, with a recent study showing that one in five chargers in the United States are not accessible.

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Even when chargers are functioning properly, however, EV owners have another concern: overcharging. Overcharging refers to EV drivers who take up space at a charger for too long. To address this, Electrify America will begin penalizing customers who overstay their charge. What counts as overstaying? Overstaying means charging more than 85% of the battery.

Read: One in five public EV chargers don’t work, Harvard study shows

While filling up a gas tank is a familiar concept for internal combustion engine drivers, “topping up” an electric vehicle battery is not as simple. Many fast chargers can quickly charge a depleted electric vehicle battery to 80% of its capacity. But filling the battery up to the final 20% usually takes much longer.

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Robert Barrosa, president of Electrify America, said this kind of charging shouldn’t be done with fast chargers. As a result, the company will implement a strict 85% charge limit at 10 of its busiest charging stations in California. The power will be disconnected at 85% charge, and if drivers don’t unplug their electric vehicles after a 10-minute grace period, they will pay an extra 40 cents per minute for “idle time.”

Working with CNNBarosa acknowledged that the charging behavior his company is trying to crack down on is because electric cars are still new to most people. He thinks most people may not even know that charging slows down significantly once a car battery is above 80 percent. “Once you’re standing at the charger, it’s like, ‘Oh, yeah. I’m fully charged,'” Barosa said.

Some of the most crowded Tesla Superchargers already use a similar strategy, though drivers can still go beyond the limit with on-screen prompts, while charging is paused at 80 percent.

Electrify America’s woes are likely exacerbated by the numerous free charging deals it has with manufacturers. Many new electric car owners from brands like Mercedes and Hyundai are eager to take advantage of the free charging offers.

But what about people who need extra charging on longer trips or have cars with limited range even on a full charge? Then there’s the small matter that, despite recent progress, not every place has the ideal number of charging stations. In those areas, Electrify America says they’re working to expand their network. Barossa also said Electrify America likely won’t enforce an overall charging cap on charging stations near major highways.

What do you think? Should electric car owners be banned from overcharging, or are there other ways to combat “power hogs”? Let us know in the comments below.

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