Unless maybe it was the grand opening of a new station for an hour, or a random $10 gift card as part of a giveaway, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone giving away free gas or diesel.
And certainly never 24/7/365!
Yet in the EV world, apparently, it’s not at all uncommon to find free charging stations. Natrually, most of them are paid, but I’m learning (and happy to see) that many common locations – for example: municipally-owned parking lots or arenas, hotels, and car dealerships – offer free charging to anyone who drives an EV.
Prior to buying my Mach-E, I had looked at PlugShare to check out charging stations near me, and saw that some were free, but I always kind of assumed it was either a mistake, or it referred to free parking, or that there was some sort of catch. After all, NOTHING is free.. right? Thankfully, I guess not!
Anyway, the other night, I took a short drive over to one of these alleged free chargers at a Chevy Dealership, and was impressed to see an L3 Charger just happily sitting there waiting for me to plug in. They didn’t care that I had a Ford – it’s just a nice little service they provide.
So, I plugged it in and quickly saw my range expand, thanks to the (nearly) 50kWh charger…. all for FREE! Both the speed and cost certainly beat my L1 home charger. And, considering it’s less than 5km from my house, this won’t be my last visit.
I know this is nothing shocking to anyone who’s owned an EV for longer than a day, but to me, it was just one more thing that validated my choice to jump into EV ownership, and I’m happy to be part of this growing community.
I am sure a day will come where it just won’t be economically feasible for Free charging to exist, but as long as it’s an option, I’ll take advantage of it where I can!