Recently, dozens of Tesla Supercharger stalls along the New Jersey Turnpike were suddenly removed. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) has asked Tesla to decommission 64 Supercharger stalls along the Northeast’s busiest highway corridor, Tesla Charging X reported. Starting June 2, the stalls will be replaced with chargers manufactured by Applegreen Electric, an NJTA service advisory said. The change could have a significant impact on electric vehicle (EV) drivers in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
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The removal is due to an agreement between the NJTA and Applegreen. In addition to operating key travel plazas in New Jersey, the NJTA granted Applegreen exclusive rights to install charging stations at those locations. Tesla responded by saying that the NJTA's decision to 'remove' rather than 'add' key charging infrastructure is a setback to New Jersey's goal of 100% zero-emission new car sales by 2035. Tesla argued that its network is highly reliable (99.9% uptime), less congested (<1% waits), and less expensive (~30% lower $/kWh).
The removal will harm EV drivers in the area. The Turnpike is a critical route not only for New Jersey drivers, but also for motorists in New York and Eastern Pennsylvania. One writer noted that non-Tesla chargers he used along the NJ Turnpike for the past two years were often problematic, and that chargers like Electrify America and EVgo often didn't work, had long lines, and had long wait times, but also noted that they were improving. As more automakers adopt the North American Charging Standard (NACS), non-Tesla EV drivers are also using these Superchargers. These drivers are now forced to use an alternative network that doesn’t match Tesla’s reliability.
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Tesla has attempted to negotiate with NJTA to co-locate its Superchargers with the new Applegreen stations. It has also proposed building Superchargers at every Turnpike service plaza and upgrading existing stalls to allow non-Tesla EVs to charge (with support for NACS & CCS1). Tesla argues that having chargers from more than one provider in one location will reduce the burden on a network and improve access for all. But NJTA appears to have rejected Tesla’s proposal. Tesla has been preparing for this evolution by installing 116 Supercharger stalls off the Turnpike over the past few years, and its trip planner now automatically directs drivers to those locations.
This situation makes it clear that EV chargers are critical infrastructure that is better to add than to remove. Let’s hope that decommissioning working chargers doesn’t become a habit. While Applegreen Electric chargers range from $0.35 to $0.59, Tesla Superchargers along the NJ Turnpike range from $0.20 to $0.45 depending on the time of day. This suggests that Applegreen chargers are actually more cost-effective, even if Superchargers are slightly more expensive during peak hours. Overall, the removal of reliable charging options is a loss for EV drivers.
