Electrify America @ Great Falls, MT

M

Mockingbird

Active member
Fastcharger Editor
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Jan 30, 2022
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498
Smith's Food and Drug

1601 Market Pl Dr, Great Falls, MT 59404

Electrify America network
 
Comment on Plugshare on Nov 4th states that Smith's stated that plans for the charging station have been scrapped. I don't know how reliable that information is, but I may wait to add this one to the map until we get more information/confirmation.
 

Also, I suppose that there aren't too many EV drivers in Montana who would be in the area to check, so it could take a while to get an update.
 
That was me who made the report they had scrapped the plans. I was planning my trip from Calgary to Arizona. I phoned the Smith's and that's what the lady who answered the phone said. I have no idea if it's true or not or how she knew. I should have done more digging or got a name or something official. Really hope it's not true because this one would be very handy.
 
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New note on Plugshare (Dec 4 2022) says somebody emailed EA. This charger is still "coming soon" and expected in summer 2023 due to delays in sourcing equipment.
 
rbhamilton said:
That was me who made the report they had scrapped the plans. I was planning my trip from Calgary to Arizona. I phoned the Smith's and that's what the lady who answered the phone said. I have no idea if it's true or not or how she knew. I should have done more digging or got a name or something official. Really hope it's not true because this one would be very handy.
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No worries...seems like you already went above and beyond to scope out the charger in prep for your trip!
 
Construction has started

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Fantastic news! If they can get this thing done by the end of April it will shave hours off my return trip from Arizona to Calgary. I won't need to detour through Missoula.
 
I just called Smith's in Great Falls. They confirmed the reports. Construction has begun and it's EV related. They didn't seem to know much more than that. I'm super happy. Excellent reporting and great news. Thanks Mockingbird!
 
rbhamilton said:
Fantastic news! If they can get this thing done by the end of April it will shave hours off my return trip from Arizona to Calgary. I won't need to detour through Missoula.
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Electrify America can build a new charging station in a few weeks.

The real delay is when the utility company can connect the charging station to the grid.

This is particularly problematic because of the backlog of transformers and switchgear.
 
It does make you wonder though why they would build out a station far in advance of having the utility's equipment on site and installed. Seems like a bit of a project management breakdown to deploy equipment to a site that might not be online for 6 months, only to have it sit idle.

Hopefully they are getting better at managing that aspect of it. Tesla seems to have gotten that aspect of it down to a science (partly due to their ability to rapidly deploy their equipment). I've detected a bit of an improvement at EA sites, but I think they still have a ways to go.
 
lpickup said:
It does make you wonder though why they would build out a station far in advance of having the utility's equipment on site and installed. Seems like a bit of a project management breakdown to deploy equipment to a site that might not be online for 6 months, only to have it sit idle.

Hopefully they are getting better at managing that aspect of it. Tesla seems to have gotten that aspect of it down to a science (partly due to their ability to rapidly deploy their equipment). I've detected a bit of an improvement at EA sites, but I think they still have a ways to go.
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What Electrify America has been doing lately is to do the underground electrical work, but not install any charging equipment until the transformer/switchgear comes in.
 
Called today (Mar 24 2023). Rep told me they had the ground torn up and blocked off for months this winter but then things stopped. There are no chargers there now and no recent activity. The manager told me it's back to being a normal parking lot with no sign of an EV charger. The EA site lists this location as "coming soon". This is bad news for me because the I15 route from (Phoenix to Calgary) is out. Likewise the route up I90 is a no-go because the road through Glacier National Park isn't open until July and the route around the park is too long. Looks like maybe I head up the coast? *sigh* life as an early EV adopter.
 
rbhamilton said:
Called today (Mar 24 2023). Rep told me they had the ground torn up and blocked off for months this winter but then things stopped. There are no chargers there now and no recent activity. The manager told me it's back to being a normal parking lot with no sign of an EV charger. The EA site lists this location as "coming soon". This is bad news for me because the I15 route from (Phoenix to Calgary) is out. Likewise the route up I90 is a no-go because the road through Glacier National Park isn't open until July and the route around the park is too long. Looks like maybe I head up the coast? *sigh* life as an early EV adopter.
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This sounds like a classic chicken/egg situation. They probably don't want to divert charging equipment there until there is sufficient demand to justify it.

I have a suspicion a lot of these companies are also holding out for full or partial site NEVI funding where they can get away with delaying it long enough to get approval.
 
Dirtman16 said:
This sounds like a classic chicken/egg situation. They probably don't want to divert charging equipment there until there is sufficient demand to justify it.

I have a suspicion a lot of these companies are also holding out for full or partial site NEVI funding where they can get away with delaying it long enough to get approval.
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They don't seem to have a problem letting equipment sit for well over a year (see Cheyenne, WY Electrify America)

I to think your NEVI theory holds water though. The pace of new installations has definitely seemed to stall lately.
 
Rumor is these chargers weren't going to be 150kw and wouldn't qualify for federal funding. Which I sort of doubt because, from what I've seen, EA doesn't go lower than 150 and usually does 350.
 
The site is no longer listed as "coming soon" on the EA site. On-Line chat says they have no plans to build at this location. Very disappointing.
 
rbhamilton said:
The site is no longer listed as "coming soon" on the EA site. On-Line chat says they have no plans to build at this location. Very disappointing.
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Nearly all of the EA "coming soon" sites nationwide have disappeared from the EA website and app this past week. All except for 6 are no longer shown. Those 6 are in California (2), Florida, Michigan, New York, and Connecticut.

I wouldn't take the online chat with that much authority since they were likely just repeating what we end-users see on the EA site location map. Internally, EA is probably re-adjusting and prioritizing which locations they'll finish this year. Hopefully most of the coming soon locations should be back on the map in a week or two.
 
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