LIVONIA, Mich. (WXYZ) — With a massive power outage spanning multiple days, metro Detroiters who own electric vehicles have been unable to charge up at home.
According to Plug Share, there are more than 1,200 electric vehicle charging stations in metro Detroit where drivers can go. But the outage has still caused an inconvenience for some, especially if the closest charger is down.
The devastating ice storm wreaked havoc Wednesday night across metro Detroit, taking down trees and power lines, leaving thousands in the dark.
Days later, tens of thousands of people were still without power, which is down from over half a million.
“Well, it’s majorly impacted us,” Dana Piecuch of Grosse Pointe said.
She has had her Tesla for just over a year. Her home lost power and the nearest charging station was out of service. It’s a problem she wasn’t expecting.
“It hasn’t crossed our mind because we haven’t had a major power outage until this one,” she said.
On a cold Friday morning, she stopped at a Tesla charging station in Livonia, which was mostly full. Some had to wait a few minutes for a chance to plug in.
“I had to wait yesterday at another station for probably an hour to get charged,” said Roman Williams, who also drives a Tesla.
While some stations were packed, the stations at a Meijer store in Roseville were empty. Drivers told 7 Action News they’ve been down Thursday and Friday, a problem for those without power at home.
“Twenty-one miles (left), so I have to find another charger,” electric vehicle driver Sohail Hassan said.
It’s been days since Hassan had power at home. The cardiologist has been unable to charge his electric car overnight and now desperately needs power while driving between hospitals.
“At home, there’s a charger, but you cannot charge so you come to the charging station here. But the charger is down, so it makes the day a little bit stressful,” Hassan said.
Electrify America, a company behind chargers, says when the power is out, there’s not much they can do. But they pointed out gas stations also don’t work without power. However right now, gas stations more than double EV chargers.
“I would say today, we’re probably not (prepared for these situations),” Sam Abuelsamid said.
Abuelsamid is an analyst who does research into electric vehicles. He says these we’re still in the early days of the electric transition and companies are looking into solar panels and batteries to help power charging stations. He also added some EVs can actually power your home during an outage.
“For those who have EVs, the last couple days may have been problematic. But some of the new things that are happening like vehicle load capability will actually probably make it easier in the future when you have a power outage,” said Abuelsamid, a principal analyst at Guidehouse Insights.
Earlier this month, President Joe Biden announced a $7.5 billion investment into EV charging with a goal of building 500,000 public chargers nationwide by 2030.
“The wider distribution of chargers you have, the more likely you’ll be able to find some that are working,” Abuelsamid said.
In the aftermath of this storm, EV drivers hope to be more prepared for the next but still prefer the plug any day over a pump.
“Oh 100%,” Piecuch said.
