ESB eCars

dloob

The N17 plaza chargers.

It’s next to the Lidl on the Galway side of Tuam a short distance from the roundabout the M17 ends at.

There was still work going on in the plaza today, could be pushing for an opening before Christmas.

AndyBoBandy

Brilliant. A real 4 car hub, capable of charging 4 CCS or 4 CHAdeMO, and any mix of the 2 standards….

I just hope they give it 4 spaces!!!!

would love to see loads of these going in…. This in Kilcullen would be a million times better than what’s there.

loopymum

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118305590#Comment_118305590

Total mess

Checked the app just before got to town & still saying 0 available but when i clicked in. One was charging. Drove in & got ev charging space & charger was available & working.

loopymum

Black_Knight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118307001#Comment_118307001

Weird. Still shows as offline. One more reason to have the ecars card rather than rely on app.

mfceiling

Checking the templeville 50kw charger every hour from yesterday and it's constantly in use. Taxis are queuing at it most days. Not a hope of getting a "quick" charge if you live within 5 Kms of this one. The sooner we get some real competition inside the M50 the better.

McGiver

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118306795#Comment_118306795

They should really give it at least 6 spaces for these UFCPs. To future proof.

I believe they can be configured to up to 4 connectors including Type 2 AC.

2x CCS, 1x Chademo and 1x AC 22 kW (backup) would make sense. Or at least 2x CCS and 1x Chademo.

McGiver

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118306478#Comment_118306478

Can you post the location?

Google Maps doesn't get it...

Edit: Found it on plugshare

https://www.plugshare.com/location/351289

dloob

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118309569#Comment_118309569

Yes that’s the correct location. Hard to find any info online about it. It was due to open in 2021 but looks like a fair bit to go especially with Christmas coming, should open in January at least.

McGiver

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118310039#Comment_118310039

I've added a photo plugs hare for the record

https://www.plugshare.com/location/91284

System

This discussion was created from comments split from: New charger locations (notification only, no discussion see #1).

Mod Note: Moved some more posts from the notification thread to here

innrain

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118307151#Comment_118307151

This charger was always a bit strange. Even before drivzz map there was the case the charger was working for some when offline. Probably a setup similar with the AC units which would remember the card if it was used there before. I wonder @loopymum if you can see your charging session on the bill. BTW we discussed on this thread that the map on ecars is bonkers. Go back to pages 170-171. I don't have an explanation of why it happens but don't rely on the color of the charger on the map or the nearby recommended on the home page of the app. You need to drill down into the specific charger page and see if someone is actually charging or not. Because the map will tell you that is in use when it is not, that it is free when someone charging, that it is unavailable (red) when someone is actually charging and all the other combinations you can think of.

Any experience with Blanch? Right now someone is charging on AC and 2 cars on HPC. Which means the AC is on bay 1, which is the most fortunate situation (well nobody can use the 50kW DC). I can see the case when AC is charging from bay 3, someone would use the 50kW on bay 2 and HPC would be blocked. Checkmate. :)

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118310039#Comment_118310039

Hold on, did ESB just put a pair of HPCs in a location that is semi useful for someone driving around the west of Ireland?

That 1 competent dude in ESB must be up to his old tricks again 😂

sh81722

Great to see some new doubled up DC chargers finally happening. The next step hopefully is that the sites currently with close to 100% utilisation will get more units installed.

ELM327

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118314717#Comment_118314717

Anna is on PTO

Black_Knight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118289049#Comment_118289049

No activity since Friday from what I see. Unit removed, dug up area is now relayed with fresh tarmac. I don't see a second mount point for a 2nd unit, nor is there much room for one anyways.

AndyBoBandy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118319775#Comment_118319775

Surely they'll put it in a different spot? maybe over towards the hotel?

I used it once and it was a really awkward place to put a charger!! It was bucketing down too which made it more awkward being unfamiliar with it.

ELM327

I'd say it's going over to the left (as opposed to currently on the right) as you turn in. Plenty of spots down there

Black_Knight

I'll take a drive through it some day the week and see if I can see anything. I've mostly driven through in the evening so it's hard to see much in the dark.

Black_Knight

First unit is in. Looks like the new dual CCS dual CHAdeMO style ones. It's replaced the old 50kW triple head. No sign of where a second unit might be going, but I only looked as I drove by.

zg3409

Norn Iron..

The network is currently free to use in Northern Ireland but the possibility of introducing fees is being looked at

Introducing fees to use the electric car charging network in Northern Ireland is being considered for next year, the company that operates the public charging network has said.

Electricity Supply Board (ESB) executives were giving evidence to Stormont's Infrastructure Committee.

The network is currently free to use in Northern Ireland.

The executives reported that there are 1,180 charging stations in the Republic and 170 in Northern Ireland.

Appearing before the committee were ESB executives John Byrne and John Walsh.

They said there were currently 50,000 electric cars in use in the Republic, 4,600 in Northern Ireland.

They said the reliability of the charging network in the Republic is 98%, compared to 69% in Northern Ireland.

Infrastructure committee chairman Jonathan Buckley MLA of the DUP described the figures as "disgraceful" and "startling" and said it appeared Northern Ireland was "the poor child" in comparison with the Republic in relation to the reliability of the network.

UK must do better over electric cars - MPs

Electric cars: ESB to use £3.27m funding 'to double chargers'

Appearing before the committee were ESB executives John Byrne and John Walsh

The ESB executives said the Republic's network has benefited from an upgrade scheme over the last three years thanks to climate action funding from the Irish Government.

Levelling-up funding from the Westminster government will allow an upgrade of the Northern Ireland network over the next 18 months, replacing and upgrading charging points, which the ESB said will make the reliability here as good or better than the network in the Republic.

Levelling-up funding will provide £3.3m, which is 90% of the capital outlay required to upgrade the Northern Ireland network.

The ESB said the electric vehicle charging network operates at a loss in Northern Ireland.

In answer to a question from Alliance assembly member Andrew Muir, Mr Byrne said: "We are actively looking at our commercial models in NI in 2022, with a view to examining our options around commercialisation and introducing fees for charging."

From

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-59670987

zg3409

Comments and actual video of meeting

https://evani.uk/video-infrastructure-committee-quiz-esb-over-abysmal-service-new-network-plans/

Video: Infrastructure Committee Quiz ESB Over “Abysmal” Service & New Network Plans

December 15, 2021

Earlier this morning representatives from ESB ecars presented to Stormont’s Infrastructure Committee.

You can watch the full presentation below (from around 19:10), plus the question and answer session that followed. Here are some of the things we learned from todays meeting.

The Existing Network

• As we know, ESB have 177 chargers in NI (160 x doubled headed ACs, plus 17 DC Rapids)
• ESB were asked how many of 177 chargers are working today. They replied that the NI network has a 69-70% reliability rate. They pointed out that the 30 chargers upgraded earlier this year have had a 96% reliability rate since their installation.
• They were then asked what the figure was when the network was at its worse point. ESB did not have that information to hand but said they would send it to the Committee. The chairman told ESB that their service has been “abysmal”.
• When asked how this reliability compared to RoI ESB said it was 98%. The chairman replied – “I find it startling that that is the difference. NI is the poor child in this relationship.”
• ESB told the Committee they run the NI network at a loss, spending between £500K and £600K per year. They also stated that “we’ve all been quite uncomfortable with the state of the network over the last 2 years”
• ESB also stated that they are not the only charger network in NI and other operators are present
• When asked how NI compared to RoI in numbers, ESB said that there are around 1,170 chargers in RoI, which lead the committee to suggest that NI should have something more like 450 to be comparable.
• ESB said that the business case remains “very challenging” with limited numbers of EVs here, although they did concede that numbers are rising rapidly. The chairman replied with “Build it and they will come”.
• The ESB representatives said there are 50,000 EVs in RoI and only 4,600 EVs in NI, and that “half are plugin hybrids that aren’t a frequent users of network here”. EVANI can confirm that this figure is incorrect however, understating EV numbers here by over 40% (DfT figures show 6,491 plug-in cars in NI for Q2 and Q3 numbers are due to be published this week which will show another substantial increase).
• ESB admitted that the poor network here is at least somewhat to blame for this low figure, saying that they “do recognise that the perception of the network is an inhibitor to EV uptake”.

The New Network

• ESB talked about their project to replace the entire network here, which is part paid for by the Levelling up Fund and stated “We recognise there a lot of work to do”.
• The £3.27M from LUF will pay for around 90% of the total capital investment required
• ESB confirmed that the grid connection costs in NI are substantially more expensive than any of the areas in GB that they operate (London, Cambridge & Birmingham) and also the Republic of Ireland.
• The 5 new Rapid Charging hubs announced by ESB will allow “4 to 8 vehicles to charge simultaneously” (we assume this means 2 double headed rapids at some sites and 4 at others?).
• The ESB network replacement project will see around 25% of existing AC sites have their equipment replaced with DC Rapid chargers.
• Installation will begin in Q1 2022, with works already started around gaining permissions etc
• However, ESB told the committee there is currently a world-wide shortage of chargers
• ESB’s London network has a reliability of over 95%, with 98% for their chargers in RoI over last 12 months. ESB envisage the new network in NI will be similar.
• ESB are currently in the procurement process for a new maintenance provider for 2022. The SLA will have a best response time of 2 hours for the most urgent faults, ranging to a 2 days for lesser items like graffiti.
• ESB envisage it will take 18 months to roll out the upgrade program across NI, finishing by “July/August 2023”.
• When asked about the Faster Project, ESB said they expect it to go to the procurement stage in Q1/Q2 2022. They confirmed they intend to “bid strongly for this work”.
• ESB confirmed they intend to Introducing fees for charging and over stays in 2022, as they had previously told EVANI in October this year

Black_Knight

Interesting to see an SLA of best response time of 2 hours. That's not an SLA that's of any use. It's a nothing if I understand it correctly. Are they saying they'll have an agreement that their best response time will be 2 hours? But not agreement around uptime or mttr or anything end users care about.

Black_Knight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118321510#Comment_118321510

Just realised. WE assumed they'd make this a hub. I'm pretty sure this is just a unit swap. No additional units going in.

DrPhilG

Some figure fudging going on there. 69% reliability in NI? Recently replaced chargers very high up time?

Bull.

McGiver

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118315000#Comment_118315000

Finally? There are 5-7 of them out of 110 FCP locations or something... in the whole country like...

@Black_Knight do you have exact data on how many locations are more than 1 FCP?

Black_Knight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118328165#Comment_118328165

13, I did a lazy count in my DB where there's more than 1 CCS plug unit per site. Should be the same for CHAdeMO.

+------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+-----------+
| date       | address                                                                        | ccs_count |
+------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+-----------+
| 2021-12-15 | Blanchardstown Centre, Navan Road, Clonsilla, Dublin 15                        |         2 |
| 2021-12-15 | Circle K - Centra, Rochestown Road, Rochestown, Cork City, Cork                |         2 |
| 2021-12-15 | Circle K M9 Kilcullen, M9, Co. Kildare                                         |         2 |
| 2021-12-15 | Circle K Service station, Centra O'Briens, Lynn Road, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath |         2 |
| 2021-12-15 | Circle K Service Station, M8 @Junction 3 (R433), Ballacolla, Laois             |         2 |
| 2021-12-15 | Circle K Service Station, Promenade Road, Dublin Port, Dublin 1                |         2 |
| 2021-12-15 | Kilmartin N6 Service Station, Dublin road, Athlone, Co.Westmeath, Ireland      |         2 |
| 2021-12-15 | Lunney’s Service Station, Sligo Road, Carrick-on-Shannon, Roscommon            |         2 |
| 2021-12-15 | Mayfield Services, M7 Junction 14 (R445), Monasterevin, Kildare                |         4 |
| 2021-12-15 | Park Ri Service Station, Cavan Road, Townparks, Kells, Meath.                  |         2 |
| 2021-12-15 | Portlaoise Plaza, Exit 17, M7,  Portlaoise, Co.Laois, Ireland                  |         2 |
| 2021-12-15 | Texaco (Mace & Supermacs), N4, Ballinalack, Westmeath                          |         2 |
| 2021-12-15 | The Galway Plaza, Junction 16, Carrowkeel, Kiltullagh, Co. Galway.             |         2 |
+------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+-----------+
13 rows in set (0.00 sec)

Black_Knight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118327562#Comment_118327562

All ready to rock once it gets power. Shameful if Frankfield is left as a single point of failure. Great it can charge 2 cars at once, but it's Cork Citys best placed charge site and will easily require more units now or very soon.

the_amazing_raisin

Bit strange they got rid of the 50kW unit, they haven't done that with any of the other sites AFAIK

I guess they must have been constrained by available parking and weren't bothered running a new cable somewhere else

At least it can manage 2 cars in parallel now

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118328029#Comment_118328029

I assume they count uptime as no faults reported, and they aren't actively running any checks on the chargers to ensure they're still online and healthy