EV alternatives

[Greenpeace]

Some years back we went through a period during morning peak (everyone cooking breakfast) if we turned on the toaster and the Microwave oven, the oven turntable noticeably slowed and lights dimmed. I think at the time we contacted the Electricity supply and they came and replaced the old pole fuse adjacent to the street transformer, told us it was a poor connection to the very old fuse that caused the problem rather than insufficient supply at peak times. Whatever, the complaint worked. I just wanted a solution to the immediate problem so the truth or whatever was not important, supply problem fixed.!

I guess if lots of owners plugged in their EV's at the same time, there might be a similar dip in supply power. I would be concerned if we had fires develop in weaker circuits.


Ken

We were having the same thing happening many years ago, everything going dim then bright. The power company did some work on the transformer on the pole 50m up the street, but it kept occurring .

I got home from work one day and phew, a very strong burnt electrical smell hit me when I opened the front door.
The supply problem melted the power supplies in the TV, VCR, pay TV box, microwave and fridge, and not one circuit breaker tripped.
Except for the pay TV box, I had all the items repaired (back when you actually got stuff repaired) and sent the bill to SEQEB.

I received a generic letter back saying that "after investigation" they concluded my electrical issues were caused by a "lightning strike" on the time and day in question, and that they weren't liable.

I sent back my neighbour's fax machine alerts, (that had been spitting out all day on the date in question), that all had "low voltage warning" printed on them, and also asked why they replaced the transformer (that they had been trying to repair) on nearby pole number #### the following day?

They sent back another letter that started off with "without admitting liabilty" and a cheque for the requested amount.

That was the day I learnt the power providers aren't our friends.

 

[JoBo]

Did i hear right - the Aussie EV charging company our PM so enthusiastically endorsed not long ago, did go into receiver ship? Does he have the gift of giving companies the kiss of death or doesn't he know what he's talking about (crap advisors?)

 

[2353]

Did i hear right - the Aussie EV charging company our PM so enthusiastically endorsed not long ago, did go into receiver ship? Does he have the gift of giving companies the kiss of death or doesn't he know what he's talking about (crap advisors?)

Could also be that the company doesn't know how to run a business - which is hardly the fault of anyone except the directors.

 

[Russell Hall]

From what I can see with country chargers they do go out of order. So it's not a set and forget business, they need a maintenance team that has all chargers within its easy reach.

 

[michaelr]

From what I can see with country chargers they do go out of order. So it's not a set and forget business, they need a maintenance team that has all chargers within its easy reach.

As with solar panels, and many other niches, there are always cynical "entrepreneurs" looking for quick profits.
I am not saying these operators were of that ilk but you can usually expect a high proportion of businesses entering a new market will fail. When the industry matured a little things might settle down.

 

[David S]

Could also be that the company doesn't know how to run a business - which is hardly the fault of anyone except the directors.

Tritium. In voluntary administration, meaning the directors concluded it was likely insolvent and could not trade on as is. It may come out the other side, but it seems there were product issues, management issues and also losses being made on every unit sold.
They were manufacturing in AU, but shut down their local manufacturing in favour of a larger USA plant partly to chase US subsidies.
Two interesting articles about it:

Tritium 's rapid rise and collapse is over - goes in to administration - Australian Manufacturing Forum

By Peter Roberts The once high flying electric vehicle charger manufacturer Tritium DCFC has succumbed to a litany of financial problems, with the appointment of voluntary administrators to its three Australian subsidiaries Tritium Pty Ltd, Tritium Holdings and Tritium Nominee. According to a...

www.aumanufacturing.com.au

Australian EV charging manufacturer Tritium goes into administration

After its share price plummeted and it was threatened with delisting from the Nasdaq, Aussie firm Tritium has declared itself insolvent.

www.carexpert.com.au

 

[jaahn]

Hmm a sad story. What might be important for Australia is what happens to their existing chargers around the country. Will they continue to be fixed and kept operational or just stand there in the way of installing other operational units.
Possibly an opportunity for a small canny tech savvy company to get a toe hold into the business.
Jaahn

 

[Kenfuego]

Hot selling a product and getting ahead of the pack and relying on governments to fill the investment and practical business gaps is almost standard in such political pushed environments and EV anything is well into that class, expectation and disappointment in equal proportions.

 

[Greenpeace]

Seems like investing all your retirement funds into an EV charging provider might not be a good idea, it appears Freewire is going belly up too.

NRMA dumps new battery-backed EV charging stations, as another big provider hits the wall

NRMA removes battery-powered fast chargers from NSW site amid reports provider has hit a financial wall, while Trevor St Baker sits in on first Tritium creditors' meeting, and market digests Tesla Supercharger plans.

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