Some Avoid Electric Vehicles Due to Charging Issues, One Company Has a Solution

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kameale Terry saw it coming before anyone else. She realized that the growing network of electric vehicle charging stations across the U.S. would require a workforce to keep it running.

The realization came when she found herself back in South Central Los Angeles—where she grew up—taking care of her mother, who had had her third relapse of cancer. It was 2016, and she had quit her job at a bank to move back home. Now she needed some flexibility at work to meet her mother’s needs.

Terry eventually took a job at EV Connect, a company that made software for electric vehicle charging stations, in a role called “driver support.” When electric vehicle drivers found something wrong at a station, they would call and she would talk them through the problem or send a technician. That made her realize the need.

“When I noticed that charging wasn’t the best experience, I wanted to find out how I could help make it a great experience,” Terry said.

In 2020, she founded ChargerHelp! with the goal of training a nationwide workforce of technicians to repair charging stations and reduce their downtime.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part of an occasional series of personal stories about the energy transition — moving away from a world powered by fossil fuels that is largely responsible for climate change.

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The phone calls Terry received from frustrated drivers weren’t the only reason she decided to start ChargerHelp! Now she understood the bigger picture of charging infrastructure, and she moved up through the ranks to become Director of EV Connect, leading programs in Australia and Canada, as well as the US.

During the early pandemic lockdowns, she was struck by the fact that there were almost no cars on the roads, and suddenly she could see the Hollywood sign from home, which was usually hidden by thick smog. “It really struck me… if people drove electric or chose more sustainable transportation, this could be a daily occurrence,” she said.

Terry also experienced air pollution firsthand, having grown up in South Central Los Angeles.

“I’m in a community that’s close to three freeways,” she said. It wasn’t until her job at EV Connect that she was able to make the connection to air pollution and health effects. “That’s where I started to dig in to understand how the air, you know, in this community was really like killing people.”

Cancer took her mother, and Terry believes air pollution played a role. A growing body of research suggests that air pollution may be linked to breast cancer.

These experiences, as well as the desire to provide employment opportunities to communities like hers, shaped her idea of ​​entrepreneurship.

Now 35, Terry is an expert in the emerging field of EV charger maintenance. She’s found that her best technicians often come from careers in oil and gas or sales. One of her most sought-after technicians is a former furniture salesman.

“The coolest thing is seeing a group of people who may not have been familiar with the space before be so passionate about the idea of ​​promoting mass adoption of electric vehicles. That brings me so much joy,” Terry said.

The rationale for founding the company has become even stronger since its inception.

One test found that nearly a quarter of San Francisco’s electric vehicle fast-charging stations were broken. Data analytics firm JD Power found that 21% of electric vehicle drivers in the US drove up to a public charger that wasn’t working. Not all studies have shown the problem to be that serious. Last fall, the federal government found far fewer chargers that were down, about 4.1%

Here’s how ChargerHelp! works: When an EV charging port has a mechanical or electronic problem, the manager of the gas station or business where it’s located submits a request through the company’s app, and a technician remotely provides quick help for issues that can be fixed on-site. For issues that require in-person assistance, the company sends a technician.

Clyde Ellis is a field service manager for the company in Los Angeles. He’s seen all kinds of damage to EV chargers—where a car crashed into one, copper cables cut by thieves, and invasions by squirrels, frogs, ants, and other insects.

“There used to be a honeycomb at the station, dripping honey,” he recalled.

Ellis came to the electric vehicle industry from the oil and gas industry, where his job involved everything from issuing permits to putting out fires started by welders working on pipelines. It was a steady job, but he eventually decided to leave.

“I realized I was in an industry that was not good for our environment,” Ellis said, recalling the air pollution generated by his previous plant. “I had to stop and really look at what was going on around me … and think, how can I make a difference? How can I be part of something bigger?”

Now he is.

“It is a source of pride and joy for me every day, and certainly at the end of the week,” he said.

Scientists say cars and other polluting machines and activities, such as power plants, must drastically reduce their emissions to maintain a livable climate. But instead of falling, global emissions continue to growElectric vehicles do not have an exhaust system or tailpipe.

The Biden-Harris administration is setting a goal for 50% of all new cars and trucks in the U.S. be electric by 2030Some states, like Washington, are set to make an even faster transition by requiring all new vehicles to be electric or non-polluting by 2030.

Terry said that for that to happen, people need to be able to trust the EV charging infrastructure. The current distrust, due to broken chargers, it’s a problem that can be solved, she said.

ChargerHelp! currently operates in 17 states.

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O’Malley reported from Philadelphia, Fauria and Garcia from Los Angeles.

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