A “crippling disconnect” in America’s network of public chargers is impacting reliability and hampering EV take-up, according to a new report.

The report warns of a fragmented public charging network due to an “overly complex ecosystem of software, hardware and OEM stakeholders”

ChargerHelp, a leading electric vehicle supply equipment operations and maintenance service provider, researched 20,000 public chargers to assess reliability issues and suggest a roadmap for improvement.

Its new ‘Annual Reliability Report: The State of EV Charging and the Driver Experience’ warns of a disconnected and fragmented public charging network due to an “overly complex ecosystem of software, hardware and OEM stakeholders”.

The report, which was reviewed and endorsed by professor Gil Tal, director of the Electric Vehicle Research Center at UC Davis, analysed data from five primary sources: two complementary sets of first-party data from ChargerHelp’s direct EVSE O&M experience, third-party data from Paren, and public data from the US DOE’s AFDC database – each focused on public charging infrastructure. In total, the report analysed more than 19 million individual data points.

“After pulling data for four years from 20,000 chargers, we identified key areas where the public charging system can be improved to better meet the needs of today’s EV driver,” said Kameale Terry, co-founder and CEO of ChargerHelp. “For the EV market to continue to flourish, we need to work to ensure true uptime is the norm through a standardised and more synchronised approach to data, maintenance and communication networks.”

The report cites a wide range of issues, but says a startling lack of interoperability stands out as the overarching threat to system reliability and broader EV adoption in the United States.

The report highlights several key findings:

• True Uptime vs. Reported Uptime: Actual EV charger uptime falls short of self-reported figures, with software often overestimating station functionality, affecting driver confidence.
• Reliability Variations: Charger reliability varies widely by state and network, with older infrastructure and certain networks experiencing higher rates of downtime.
• Targeted Repairs and Standardisation: A number of problem stations require multiple repairs, significantly impacting overall reliability. Standardised reliability metrics are crucial for improving uptime.

In response to these findings, the report offers a set of recommendations aimed at improving EVSE reliability and enhancing the charging experience for EV drivers:

• Ensure data accessibility
• Measure uptime effectively with standardised data reporting protocols
• Allocate O&M specific funding to maintain and renew EVSE infrastructure
• Implement comprehensive warranty coverage and standardised troubleshooting protocols
• Promote leading practices and expand technician training and certification

The full report is available to download here.