Costco Wholesale has collaborated with North American EV charging network Electrify America and rolled out a series of DC fast chargers available to all EV drivers at select store locations. The EV chargers are operational at those Costco stores now, beginning in three states.
If you drive an EV, you’re well aware of Electrify America’s growing network of chargers. They may not be the most dependable, but EA currently hails itself as the US’s largest open DC fast charging network, offering over 4,000 stops to replenish in 47 states plus the District of Columbia. evse charger
With Tesla opening up its Supercharger network, consisting of over 28,000 ports in the US alone, to all EV makes and models, Electrify America won’t be able to claim to be the largest public network anymore, but I digress.
Electrify America remains one of the most prominent networks in the United States, and it’s hard to miss the neon green slow of its units when you’re out searching for a charge, especially at night. EA has become one of the more prominent networks by installing its technology across major highways and near popular places to stop, such as restaurants and retail.
Speaking of shopping, what’s better than a trip to Costco? You usually end up with seven items in your cart before you even reach the first thing on your list. While you peruse every aisle, wouldn’t it be nice to know your EV was reaching up to 350 kW for the ride home?
Costco had a similar thought and collaborated with Electrify America’s Commercial team to purchase several EV fast chargers installed at select locations. While we hope to see more EV charging stations in other Costco parking lots, only a few areas will get to test them out first.
My wife and I go to Costco every week for shopping. We typically spend close to an hour there, because we also go to the Trader Joe’s market, which is next-door. The problem with a fast charger is it would finish charging long before we finish our shopping, so we would have to run out and disconnect from the charger and move the car. I would like to see them put in level two chargers at about a 10 to one ratio. The other thing I hope is that they offer a reduced price like they do with gasoline. In urban areas, I think there’s too much emphasis on fast chargers. Look at all the places you go to that you might spend between a half an hour and an hour, or maybe two hours like in a movie theater. A level two charger would be great because each time you stop you would get a reasonable amount of charge but not have to worry about idle fees. They are also much cheaper to install for the businesses. I went to a physical therapist and there business complex had about 25 level two chargers and in the hour I was there I got about 30 miles Added. It may not seem like much but if you add up all the times you might stop, it adds up to a decent amount. After all, do you always get a full tank of gas every time you go to the gas station?
Electrify America shared details of Costco’s new rollout of EV charging, beginning at five locations across three states: California, Colorado, and Florida. The chargers resulted from a collaboration between Costco and EA’s commercial division, the former of which owns the branded chargers you can see above.
The charging stations have been integrated into Electrify America’s US network, enabling EV drivers to easily locate them and pay for a session through the company’s app. The chargers can each deliver rates up to 350 kW and are open to nearly all EV makes and models (sorry, Nissan LEAF owners).
Here’s a breakdown of the five initial Costco locations where EV charging is now available:
This seems like a no-brainer for an EV-charging goldmine, and I’m honestly surprised it took this long to happen. If you live near any of these Costco locations, test one out with your EV and let us know how your charging experience went. Grab a $1.99 slice of pizza for me, too. Thanks!
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ev charging stations for home use Scooter Doll is a writer, designer and tech enthusiast born in Chicago and based on the West Coast. When he’s not offering the latest tech how tos or insights, he’s probably watching Chicago sports. Please send any tips or suggestions, or dog photos to him at scooter@9to5mac.com