Charger issues leaving EV owners furious

Massive problems at a Dundee service centre have wreaked havoc on Scotland’s £45 million electric vehicle (EV) charging network.

Drivers are furious with “significant” software issues preventing them from finding and using one of the ChargePlace Scotland (CPS) network’s 1,800 points.

Scores of existing charging points are missing from official maps, while others appear available but will not work for many customers.

EV drivers say the problems are so serious they could set the electrical vehicle rollout – key to reducing Scotland’s transport carbon emissions – “back years”.

The transport sector is currently the greatest contributor to Scotland’s emissions. Road transport is responsible for the largest share.

Driver Ian Jones said he would not have bought an electric vehicle earlier this year had he known about the problems.

“Not knowing whether a charger I need to use will be working causes a lot of stress and anxiety,” he said.

“Mainly because the map is not accurate or the network can fail without warning.

“I am loath to recommend that anyone in Scotland, or intending to visit Scotland, buy an EV until they have a proven network.”

The Scottish Government has invested £45m in the CPS network of 1,800 charge points since 2013.

The majority of drivers have to use the network if unable to charge at home, although other networks do exist.

With its new office at Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc in Dundee, SWARCO eVolt won the contract to become the “back office operator” for the CPS network earlier this year.

The Austrian-based multinational has already supplied and installed much of Scotland’s charging point infrastructure. The move brought 18 high-value jobs into the city.

But SWARCO eVolt has since admitted huge problems since the takeover from Charge Your Car – the company that previously had responsibility for the back office functions.

A SWARCO eVolt spokesman maintains the Dundee team “inherited issues around poor data, faulty cards and ‘missing’ third-party charge points”.

But the company critics accuse it of failing to prepare properly for what SWARCO eVolt itself has badged the “world’s largest EV charger migration”.

One industry-watcher, who did not wish to be named, said the back office “was a complete mess” on takeover.

The company has hit back, saying even months of careful preparation were not enough to leave the team fully prepared for the size of the task ahead.

Scottish Government ministers have demanded to see an “effective solution in place as soon as possible”.

Chartered engineer Gerry Moorhouse, who owns two EVs, said “everyone was very hopeful” for a dramatic improvement when SWARCO eVolt assumed responsibility for the contract.

But instead, he said, the service has only got worse. He claimed it will put drivers off going electric.

He said: “It will set them back years – if you take friends and family out for a journey and it takes seven hours to get there rather than three.

“If the journey goes badly wrong then they will think ‘why should I buy an electric?’”

Mr Moorhouse is based in Aberdeen, but is a frequent visitor to Fife, Perth and Kinross, Angus, Dundee and Edinburgh.

“The system wasn’t perfect before, but it worked,” he said.

“Now the website and the app are an unmitigated disaster.”

Drivers remain in the dark over the glitches.

They cannot tell if they are due to the charging posts or the software used to operate the network.

Drivers often have to get back in their vehicles. They must then find another charging point and hope it is working before a lack of power leaves them stranded.

Electrical Vehicle Association Scotland director Neil Swanson said SWARCO eVolt had done a lot of work to mitigate the problem.

“It’s not clear yet how this has happened,” he said.

“There have been issues with the data migration that were unexpected.

“They did not show up in any of the testing we are aware of.

“They told us they had done testing and there had been no issues. That gave us a high degree of confidence.”

He said SWARCO had done a number of things to make it better for drivers.

He continued: “They haven’t been perfect, but nobody has ever done this before at this scale.

“For those who were completely dependent on the public network, there was a period where they were significantly restricted.

“It’s not yet clear how this has happened.

“It will turn into a blame game and that’s not going to help anyone at this point.”

John Curtis, head of communications for ChargePlace Scotland, said their team had been absolutely clear “it would take months before all of the issues were identified and resolved”.

He said they were currently four weeks into that programme.

The company had undertaken significant work in advance of the handover and had invested “significant resources,” he added.

“We are very aware of the difficulties that some EV drivers are currently experiencing on the ChargePlace Scotland network,” he said.

“We have indeed inherited issues around poor data, faulty cards and ‘missing’ third-party charge points.”

He added: “We can reassure customers that our highly trained and professional teams are working literally night and day to address the issues. In the last week alone, we have answered and responded to more than 2,500 calls.

“We completely understand this is a frustrating time.”

He said CPS now has more working chargers online than at the time of migration and that they had seen a 20% increase in the number of memberships of the driver scheme.

The company has added around six specialists to its Dundee team as they wrestle with the data issues.

“We are proud to be based in Dundee and to have created 18 new jobs at the MSIP facility,” he added.

“The majority of the CPS team are engaged in directly answering customer inquiries.

“We completely understand this is a frustrating time.

“It is frustrating to all of us who believe passionately in an electric future.

“We thank drivers for their continued patience.”

A Transport Scotland spokesman said: “While we understand significant progress is being made in resolving the key issues which initially affected drivers, we appreciate how critical it is for EV drivers to have access to a comprehensive and reliable network.”

“It will set them back years – if you take the friends and family out for a journey and it takes seven hours rather than three