EV owners are becoming increasingly frustrated with home charging
A recent study by JD Power found that EV owners have become increasingly frustrated with their home charging experience for several reasons, including higher electricity rates and charging speeds.
Declining home charging satisfaction among EV owners
Inflation (via the Consumer Price Index) rose at the fastest rate in roughly 40 years following the pandemic, with the prices of everything from lumber to eggs soaring.
Electricity rates were no safe haven. The latest Energy Information Administration data shows average residential rates rose in the US by nearly 10% in 2022 to 14.96 cents per kilowatt-hour from 13.72 in December 2021.
According to JD Power’s recently released US Electric Vehicle Experience Home Charging Study, rising electricity rates are a significant reason for dissatisfaction with home EV charging.
Perhaps, more importantly, the study also shows only 51% of EV owners had knowledge of their utility companies’ programs to assist with home charging. Adrian Chung, director of utility intelligence at JD Power, explains:
By increasing awareness of available rebates or incentives, EV owners will benefit. This can snowball into helping potential EV owners make a more informed purchase decision, as well as minimizing home charging concerns and supporting greater EV adoption.
Several utility companies offer incentives and rebates for purchasing and installing home EV charging infrastructure. For incentives in your area, you can check with your utility company, or ChargePoint has compiled a list by state.
Another reason for the falling satisfaction is charging speed. Satisfaction improved significantly when moving from a Level 1 to a Level 2 charger.
Although over two-thirds of EV owners use a Level 2 charger, this year’s study found that 2022 and 2023 EV owners are less satisfied than 2021 and 2020 owners.
Brent Gruber, executive director of the EV practice at JD Power, explains, “improving the home charging experience should be a common goal shared by all,” adding:
There are programs available today that will help EV owners with the startup costs, such as installing or upgrading to a faster Level 2 charger. There are also programs designed to save EV owners money with the ongoing costs of charging their vehicle, like scheduling to charge during the most affordable time of the day.
Again, the study found that most EV owners have little awareness of the programs and incentives being offered.
Scheduling a charging time increased charging satisfaction, with the highest being among them using the vehicle’s mobile app. As far as home charging units, Tesla ranked highest for level 2 chargers, followed by GRIZZL-E and Emporia.
Electrek’s Take
To be fair, a 12-point decline on a thousand-point scale is minimal. The big issue is informing EV owners about the products and what benefits they are eligible for to improve the experience.
The Inflation Reduction Act, passed last August, is designed to bring energy costs down. According to the White House Briefing, “families that take advantage of clean energy and EV tax credits will save more than $1,000 per year.”
Through the federal tax credit, EV buyers are eligible for a credit of 30% (up to $1,000) of the cost of their home EV charger.
The findings of the study indicate one thing – more awareness is needed. Although there is not much we can do to influence energy rates, there are ways to save money and increase satisfaction.
One of the best ways to find out what incentives you are eligible for is by calling your utility company directly.
Utility companies can play an integral role in the rollout of zero-emission electric vehicles by working with their customers and using technology like vehicle-to-grid (V2G) to save energy demand during peak hours to bring down energy costs.
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A view of offshore oil and gas platform Esther in the Pacific Ocean on January 5, 2025 in Seal Beach, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
Oil prices jumped on Friday as the U.S. Treasury Department announced sweeping sanctions against Russia’s oil industry.
Brent gained $1.92, or 2.5%, to $78.84 per barrel by 11:12 a.m. ET, while U.S. crude oil advanced $1.89, or 2.56%, to $75.81 per barrel. Brent broke $80 per barrel for the first time since October earlier in day, hitting a session high of $80.75.
The sanctions target Russian oil companies Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas and their subsidiaries, more than 180 tankers, and more than a dozen Russian energy officials and executives. The sanctioned executives include Gazprom Neft CEO Aleksandr Valeryevich Dyukov.
The sanctioned vessels are mostly oil tankers that are part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” that has dodged existing sanctions on the country’s energy exports, according to the Treasury Department.
“The United States is taking sweeping action against Russia’s key source of revenue for funding its brutal and illegal war against Ukraine,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.
Brent crude futures, 1 year
“With today’s actions, we are ratcheting up the sanctions risk associated with Russia’s oil trade, including shipping and financial facilitation in support of Russia’s oil exports,” Yellen said.
The perception in the oil market is Indian and Chinese refiners that have imported Russian oil will have to scramble for barrels from the Middle East, said Bob Yawger, executive director of energy futures at Mizuho Securities, in a note to clients Friday.
The Biden administration has sought to ratchet up pressure on Russia and dispense aid to Ukraine before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
“The Biden administration opted for more robust energy sanctions, which caught the oil market especially complacent about sanctions risks,” said Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group.
“Therefore, we expect today’s material risk premium in Brent to stick pending signals from the Trump team as to whether they will continue these sanctions,” McNally said.
Hydrostor’s GEM A-CAES has received a conditional loan guarantee of up to $1.76 billion from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to build the Willow Rock Energy Storage Center, a cutting-edge compressed air energy storage (CAES) system, in Eastern Kern County, California.
If everything goes as planned, Willow Rock will bring 500 megawatts (MW) and 4,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of long-duration energy storage (LDES) to the southern California power grid.
This system will lower energy costs, improve grid reliability during peak demand, and expand the rollout of renewable energy into the grid. Here’s how it works and why it’s unique.
How compressed air energy storage works
CAES technology is all about storing energy for later use, especially when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. Here’s how it works:
- Storing energy: The system takes surplus energy (often from renewable sources like solar or wind) and uses it to compress air, which is stored in underground caverns.
- Releasing energy: When the grid needs power, the compressed air is released, passing through a turbine to generate electricity. Willow Rock will be able to dispatch stored energy at full power for over eight-hour periods.
Unlike conventional batteries, CAES can scale up based on the size of the storage cavern and doesn’t rely on scarce critical materials. It’s durable, too –systems like Willow Rock are designed to last over 50 years.
Why advanced CAES is different
Traditional CAES systems face two big challenges: wasted heat and inconsistent power output. Willow Rock’s advanced compressed air energy storage system (A-CAES) technology solves these problems:
- Thermal energy capture: Conventional CAES loses around 50% of energy during the air compression process. Willow Rock pairs a proprietary thermal storage system with this process, so it captures, stores, and reuses heat from the compression cycle.
- Constant Pressure: Traditional systems lose efficiency as underground air pressure drops. Willow Rock maintains consistent pressure by using water from an above-ground reservoir. As a bonus, the facility will be a net producer of fresh water, as water condensed during the compression process will be captured and reused.
This innovative design means A-CAES systems can be installed in a greater variety of underground conditions – an estimated 80% of US geology could support similar systems, opening the door for wide deployment.
Willow Rock will create up to 700 construction jobs at its peak, and 40 full-time operations roles will follow. These positions require skills similar to those used in the oil and gas industry, making it a natural fit for Kern County, a region with roots in fossil fuel production.
GEM A-CAES is a subsidiary of Hydrostor USA Holdings, a subsidiary of Hydrostor of Canada.
Read more: The world’s highest solar + storage project is online in Tibet
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Chinese EV automaker Build Your Dreams (BYD) has unveiled its ATTO 2 compact SUV to the European public. The launch, which took place at the Brussels Motor Show, kicks off BYD’s next EV entry into European and UK markets. The BYD ATTO 2 is smaller and more affordable than its SUV siblings, with a decent range to boot, perfect for European roads.
The ATTO 2 is a rebranded version of the Chinese EV automaker BYD’s Yuan Up – an ultra-affordable compact SUV that debuted in China in February 2024. BYD may not be bringing “Yuan” branded EVs over to new markets in Europe, but that lineup continues to grow each month.
BYD currently sells four all-electric models in the UK and seven in Europe, including the ATTO 3 SUV. Today, BYD debuted a rebranded version of the Yuan Up called the ATTO 2, which will go on sale to customers in the UK and Europe next month.
BYD unveils ATTO 2 in Brussels, sales begin in February
The Brussels Motor Show recently kicked off as the first major automotive expo in Europe in 2025, and BYD showed up with a new affordable BEV option to complement the ATTO 3. Per BYD executive vice president Stella Li:
We’re excited to start 2025 with another important model for our plans in Europe. The B-segment SUV class is incredibly popular here, and with the ATTO 2, we have an agile and versatile offering that will appeal to that large potential customer base. It takes all of BYD’s strengths in batteries, electric motors and Cell-to-Body construction and combines them in a compact package that brings new intelligent technologies to the urban SUV class.
The ATTO 2 is 4,310mm long, 1,830mm wide, and 1,675mm tall—145mm shorter and 45mm slimmer than its ATTO 3 sibling. Despite its compact size, the ATTO 2 offers up to 1,430 liters of cargo capacity with its rear seat down.
The ATTO 2 also sits atop BYD’s e-Platform 3.0, the first of the brand’s compact SUVs to utilize Cell-to-Body (CTB) construction, which integrates the battery completely into the vehicle chassis—this design results in optimized space and overall increased vehicle rigidity.
Speaking of batteries, the EU and UK customers who opt for an ATTO 2 can experience BYD’s proprietary Blade Batteries, which integrates LFP cells directly instead of fitting them into multiple modules. BYD says customers can choose between two battery sizes in their ATTO 2 order. At launch, a standard range edition will utilize a 45.1 kWh Blade Battery, delivering a (WLTP) 312 km (194 miles) range.
However, BYD said a larger-battery version of the ATTO 2 will arrive in the coming months and offer drivers greater range. The automaker is not yet sharing individual pricing for the ATTO 2 in the UK or Europe. Still, a representative for the company said the compact SUV is expected to land between the BYD Dolphin and ATTO 3 BEVs, which in the UK cost 26,140 GBP ($32,157) and 37,140 GBP ($45,689) respectively.
ATTO 2 sales are expected to begin in February.
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