Fastcharger - Oak Creek - Meijer 283 (Oak Creek, WI)

[fcibot]

This thread is for discussion of the Meijer 283 (Oak Creek, WI) fast charger

Provider: Electrify America

Address: 171 W Town Square Way, Oak Creek, WI, 53154

GPS: 42.898385,-87.915165

Stalls: 6

Hours:

 

[Delta5]

This is the closest EA to my home and I drive by the site frequently. So I've watched it develop out of curiosity.

The dispensers were installed in July of 2022. Landscaping, cables, and "EV Parking" signs were installed in the fall of 2022. It's sat unpowered wrapped in increasingly shredded plastic wrap since then. I can only assume they're waiting on transformers or WE Energies (our power company) to "flip the switch".

It seems inconceivable to me that EA would go through the expense of installing the chargers when there's such a huge delay in commissioning them.

 

[lpickup]

It seems inconceivable to me that EA would go through the expense of installing the chargers when there's such a huge delay in commissioning them.

Yeah, this is an unfortunately common example of really poor project management. Supply chain (or whatever) issues should have been identified well before actual hardware was purchased and installed on site. Would have been more beneficial to deploy the hardware elsewhere (or simply keep the money in the bank) until closer to the availability of the utility to flip the switch. Tesla seems to have gotten this down to a science. Seems EA needs to get better at this.

Of course, the cynic might think that the delay bought them more time to be able to cash in on NEVI funding.

 

[Vandy1981]

This station is now available for use per EA. I much prefer this location to the the current inconvenient station in West MKE at the scary Walmart.

I have a trip planned for Northern WI this Christmas and this will make charging much less tenuous. Maybe Santa will also commission the GRB station before Christmas.

 

[sincladk]

Maybe Santa will also commission the GRB station before Christmas.

I know this is off topic, but there was some more interesting info shared on the PlugShare location for that GB charger:

12/4/2023
Ok, guys. I was able to get ahold of Electrify America. I emailed the CEO, and that generated some outreach and someone who was able to give me a complete, and believable, story. Bottom line is they have had a very difficult time working with the local utility. The latest incident was a missed November 30th appointment for WPS (the local utility) to energize the site. I'm emailing the CEO of WPS, but if some folks have some contacts in the regulated utility industry. Might be a good time to reach out to them.

12/4/2023
John's explanation could be right. If you look at a map of the area WPS serves, it's a near charging desert for DCFC. But Tesla does have a couple of Superchargers in WPS served cities. And why would a utility not want to sell electricity? Even if it is WPS at fault, why wouldn't Green Bay or Brown County officials lean on them? Just a lot of people in that neck of the woods that don't believe in EV's I suspect.

12/4/2023
One more update on my post from earlier today regarding the utility delays. I emailed the CEO of WPS. Within a couple of hours he got back to me. He thanked me for reaching out and said he was looking into it. Fingers crossed!

 

[Vandy1981]

I know this is off topic, but there was some more interesting info shared on the PlugShare location for that GB charger:

I saw that and am not surprised that the local utility (WPS) is the problem. To WPS's credit, the Weston, WI, station is also in their service area and was commissioned in record time.

I'm guessing that the local WPS staff have not prioritized this station for whatever reason. If that's the case, attention from the WPS CEO could potentially have an impact.

 

[Vandy1981]

I guess it was a false alarm. Someone went to the station today and reported that it's still dark on plugshare .

 

[lpickup]

Open now, but it looks like it's all 150kW stations according to the app.