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Work group zeroes in on uptime measurement and whether to align with NEVI
Summary
Members debated how to measure charger availability, whether to treat stations or individual ports as "up," and how closely Maryland should adopt NEVI metrics such as a 97% uptime standard; technical modes of operation (app, tap, call center) complicated a single definition.
A central technical debate at the Public Service Commission's EVSE work group meeting was how to measure charger "uptime" and whether Maryland should default to NEVI metrics. Scott Wilson and other participants urged consistent terminology and operational definitions — network, station, port, and connector — because chargers can be accessed via app activation, tap‑to‑pay, or an 800 number.
Scott Wilson described multiple usage modes and asked the group to measure reliability based on operational modes rather than a single device attribute. "One port can charge one car at a time," he said, and noted that if one connector type at a station fails, consumers still face a meaningful outage. Ben noted the PSC previously debated whether reliability should be measured at the station or port level and that NEVI defines metrics at the station level.
Members compared other jurisdictions: Philip, an intern, summarized California's approach of applying a 97% uptime requirement to state- and ratepayer‑funded chargers and a 90% successful charge rate target; the UK was cited as having even higher nominal uptime targets. Industry cautioned that applying stringent uptime standards to nascent deployment could raise costs; Paul and Josh emphasized centering consumer access when defining what counts as "up."
No final measurement standard was adopted. The work group directed staff to circulate a side‑by‑side matrix of PSC rules and NEVI requirements and to return with a more detailed proposal in a future meeting.
