From: Victor Caballero
To: cityclerk
Subject: Public Comment to Municipal Services Committee Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2025 11:28:07 AM
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Dear Municipal Services Committee Members,
The state of EV Fast Charging in Pasdaena is atrocious.
Millions of dollars have been spent and the current condition of EV DC Fast Chargers at city facilities is an embarrassment and needs to be addressed ASAP.
Why people haven't been fired over this is mind
boggling. It is a complete dereliction of duties.
Chargers have screws falling out. connectors are broken, cables are laying on the ground with exposed wires. Chargers are on and do not work. Chargers are off and have no signage.
DC Fast Chargers:
At Victory Park there are three DC fast chargers, one works.
At Robinson Park there are five chargers, and only two of the five work.
At Glenarm - ZERO fast chargers work. One is on with a red light on top..
At Del Mar, one works sometimes.
At Shoppers Lane - occasionally two work.
At Marengo Plaza, once touted as one of the largest EV Fast Charging West of the Rockies.
Close to 50 DC Fast chargers and maybe a handful work.
So far the grade for Pasadena EV Fast Charging is an F - FAIL! Promises had been made by PWP that half of all "broken" chargers would be repaired by the end of April, that came and went and nothing changed as a matter of fact things may have gotten worse.
PWP also
promised that the remaining DC Fast chargers would be repaired in three months.
The PWP site is littered with bad info related to EV charging including omission of the Robinson Park DC Fast chargers, and the claim that the Marengo Plaza is the largest EV charging facility in the nation, which is false.
Meanwhile there are no clear signs for EV charging, no time limits, to overstay fees, and worse of all is that the PWP chargers are priced so low that you will see Tesla drivers charing at a PWP Fast charger vs using an Tesla Supercharger which is shouldn't be discouraged.
Also
seeing vehicles parked that are not charging in EV spots and blocking
needs to be cited and parking enforcement should be armed with the tools to monitor and enforce.
Meanwhile Tesla chargers there are dozens around the city and 99% of the chargers work.
PWP and staff make justifications for why the chargers are not working, blaming Shell or Tritium, PowerFlex, contractors, supply chain, but that is even more evidence that the issue is chronic and that is not being handled properly. The City of Pasadena never should have let this happen, and it’s shameful to realize that our city’s EV chargers are in this state of disrepair without a PLAN? All city council members must go see the facilities for themselves to see the state of EV charging in Pasadena. And speak to the people who are frustrated trying to use the chargers that DO NOT WORK.
City
council should also demand a full audit and accounting of all EV charging facilities.
Taxpayers and the community deserve answers and action to resolve the disastrous state
of DC Fast charging provided by PWP..
Regards,
Victor Caballero