Rate Charging Suppliers based on ease of use?

[Pib]

2 hours ago, digbeth said:

looks like it got worse, with the new update, booking slot is now half hour - 27 minutes with 3 minute time to unplug and vacate for the next guy, if there's no booking in the next slot, you can continue charging without unplugging and re-scanning. 

 

1 hour ago, macahoom said:

Can one person book two consecutive 30 minute slots?

 

App updated 10 Oct...."what's new" changes below.  Can support multiple time slots bookings such as consecutive 30 minute slots.  See snapshots below....one from Google Pay Store and one from my phone using the updated app & clicking multiple, consecutive time slots.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KhunLA]

9 minutes ago, Pib said:

 

 

App updated 10 Oct...."what's new" changes below.  Can support multiple time slots bookings such as consecutive 30 minute slots.  See snapshots below....one from Google Pay Store and one from my phone using the updated app & clicking multiple, consecutive time slots.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wonder if drive up is still 'un-timed' ... will be using tonight, so will update.

 

No need to fix what wasn't broken ????

[Pib]

Hey, I just thought since multiple bookings can now be done but you are not sure what time you will  be able the charging station just book a bunch of consecutive time slots.   But I expect there is a catch that would make that  costly like maybe multiple booking fees being applied for each 30 minute booked slot--I don't know since I haven't actually tried it yet as I'm still waiting to get my new EV delivered.  But at least I'm registered on the app with payment option setup also.

[KhunLA]

2 hours ago, KhunLA said:

I wonder if drive up is still 'un-timed' ... will be using tonight, so will update.

 

No need to fix what wasn't broken ????

Don't think so ... updated app, now can't sign in ... ????

Can't get though to call center, guessing flooded with calls.  MG Super Charger to the rescue, and as always, on the way tomorrow.

 

RESTRICTED ... doesn't get any better than that ????

Edited October 11, 2023 by KhunLA

[Mavideol]

22 hours ago, Pib said:

 

For EVs sold in Thailand the CCS2 port/connector is pretty much the standard.   For Tesla EVs which use a different kind of charging port/cable they come with a free Tesla-to-CCS2 adapter.   The Chademo connector will be found on a few older EVss but newer EVs are pretty much transitioning to the CCS2 connector for most of the world although EV in China typically use the GB/T type connector. 

 

The charging stations around Thailand will have cables which will connect to a Type 2 port, a CCS2 port, or Chademo.   But to repeat the CCS2 port/cable is pretty much the elephant in the room when it comes to charging most EVs sold in Thailand and many countries.  Just google "EV charging ports/cables" and there will be tons of good, layman type links to review....Youtube has tons of stuff on the subject also.

 

Also, don't be concerned about charging ports/cables to use in Thailand....it will be a non-issue.

 

 

 

as always great answer and do appreciate the feed back, all noted for future purchase, again thanks Pib

[Pib]

2 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Don't think so ... updated app, now can't sign in ... ????

Can't get though to call center, guessing flooded with calls.  

 

When I read this I thought to myself after the update a few hours ago I was still logged in as I don't signout of the app.  So, I wondered if I logged out could I then log back in after the update?  I logged out and was able to log back in no problem.  So, the updated app didn't affect my ability to log in (yet).  

[Pib]

On 10/11/2023 at 2:36 PM, Pib said:

 

 

App updated 10 Oct...."what's new" changes below.  Can support multiple time slots bookings such as consecutive 30 minute slots.  See snapshots below....one from Google Pay Store and one from my phone using the updated app & clicking multiple, consecutive time slots.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The PTT charging app just updated again/as of 12 Oct....only two days after their 10 Oct that had some major changes in bookings...and apparently also some people having problems with the updated app.  When comparing the "What's New" summary between the 10 Oct and 12 Oct updates (above and below) I don't see any difference.  But there must have been some glitch that was very significant for the app to be updated within 48 hours.

 

12 Oct Update

 

[Melpomene]

On 10/13/2023 at 10:02 AM, Pib said:

 

The PTT charging app just updated again/as of 12 Oct....only two days after their 10 Oct that had some major changes in bookings...and apparently also some people having problems with the updated app.  When comparing the "What's New" summary between the 10 Oct and 12 Oct updates (above and below) I don't see any difference.  But there must have been some glitch that was very significant for the app to be updated within 48 hours.

 

12 Oct Update

 

Anybody still have problems with PTT EV Station PluZ ?   I've tried to use it 3 times since they screwed up their app update.  The first two times I couldn't get charging to start.  I've left it for a week and tried them again this morning and this time charging started ok, but it didn't register through to my app and I was unable to end the charging session and unplug.  I ended up having to speak to their contact centre to get the CP reset.  There's absolutely no record of it on my app, so will be interesting to see if we get charged for it!

 

On all 3 occasions there was somebody else at the charging station experiencing the same problem, so it wasn't just me.  Seems like they really have screwed up their systems with this latest round of "upgrades" they've released!

 

Think I'll be sticking with EAnywhere in the future...

[Pib]

On 10/8/2023 at 6:49 PM, Pib said:

OK, one more update.  Successfully registered and setup a payment option on one more charging app--the Alexa by EGAT app.  I'm now setup for 4 charging apps.

 

No ID card/passport required nor asked for anywhere.  The only payment option was a "credit card" (I assume to be only Thai).  Now I don't have a "Thai" CC but have several Thai "debit" cards and thought maybe when they say credit it really means credit "or" debit card....either credit or debit being fine.  So, I entered my Bangkok Bank debit card number, expiration date, and CCV (my name was not asked for), a verification process began where the app said a small amount would be debited "and then credited back" to my acct, a OTP arrived from Bangkok Bank, I entered that OTP into the Elexa app, and over just a few seconds the car verification completed successfully.  The card now shows in the app as my payment option.  And as mentioned I didn't see any other option to pay like using QR payment...only payment by card was available.  

 

I then went to my Bangkok Bank acct and saw a Bt12.42 debit had occurred but with no sign of any offsetting credit of Bt12.42.  So, unless a credit for that amount appears over the coming days it appears EGAT (a govt agency) just decided to keep the Bt12.42 verification amount. 

 

Since it's such a small amount and just getting the fully registered and a payment option setup, for the first few minutes after the registration the Bt12.42 money grab by EGAT I decided not to call Alexa customer service.  But then, I said why not call....see if I an get an answer on this Sunday evening....see if I could talk to an English speaking rep....see what Alexa customer service is like. 

 

Well, I did get to an English speaking rep within a few minutes who was "kinda" helpful.  By "kinda" helpful I mean the rep understood my issue but said she could not really do any follow-up until tomorrow/Monday when their accounting section is opened.  She promised to check into the issue and call me back tomorrow as to what happened, if it really takes days/weeks for EGAT to provide a credit amount back, etc....etc...etc.   So, whether I get the Bt12.42 back or not at least I got a feel for Alexa customer service if something more expensive every goes wrong in paying for a charging session.

 

I decided to add Alexa to my collection of PTT EV Station Pluz, PEA Volta, and EA Anywhere app registrations I talked in earlier posts because based on that chart above of Thailand charging stations Elexa had 98 DC Fast Chargers around the country....around 35 of them at PT stations (not PTT, but PT).....seemed maybe PT stations were teaming up with Alexa EGAT for chargers at their stations....lots of PT stations around and maybe many more PT stations will be adding EGAT chargers in the coming years.

 

Now 98 DC Fast Chargers around the country is not a huge amount but it did represent almost 7% of the Fast Chargers on above chart.   The PTT, PEA, and EA chargers combined represented a little over 84%....and now by adding Elexa's 7% I will now have access to approx 91% of DC Fast Chargers around Thailand.   90% or more sounds good to me....sounds like more than enough.  

 

So, unless I flip-flop again and decide to register with some more charging apps I think being registered with PTT, PEA, EA, and Alexa is plenty to provide charger coverage on longer trips I may take since I don't think my home wall charger cable can stretch long enough to cover any long trips outside my carport. ????

 

 

 

 

On 10/9/2023 at 12:28 PM, Pib said:

The Elexa rep did call me back this morning after getting with the accounting department and said the Bt12.42 card verification charge had been immediately voided.   And the rep sent me an email will the mile long transaction number which voided the charge.   The rep said I will need to talk with my bank (Bangkok Bank) as to how long it will take for the voided transaction to result in a credit back to my account to zero out the initial charge....and said it typically takes up to 7 days for that to occur within Thailand.   Very pleased with how Elexa Customer Service responded...sometimes just getting any follow-up response from the initial call to customer service is satisfying to get even if the customer service don't give you the answer you were hoping for.

 

But I do understand many times this refund/credit process when dealing with credit/debit cards can take a while based on how the credit/debit system rules operate. Like below is a snapshot of the transactions on the Bangkok Bank debit card I used and notice there are no transactions listed...that 8 Oct Bt12.42 transaction is not listed.   

 

But also notice the Notes which talks transactions will "not" appear under the debit card until the merchant completes the settlement process.  Until that settlement completes a person needs to look at the transactions appearing in the Account Activity page which is where that Bt12.42 charge immediately appears and continues to appear.   Hopefully within the next 7 days or so the voiding transaction Elexa initiated immediately on their end will complete on the bank end which will result in Bt12.42 being credited back to my account.  Time will tell but I think that how it's going to work and reinforced by the Bangkok Bank notes below.  

 

And still scratching my head as to why the other app I signed up for which did the same card verification of only Bt1 (i.e., charge then immediately refund) did "not" end up debiting any money from my acct....did not appear anywhere on my bank acct......but the Elexa app process did.  Will post later if/when the Bt12.42 shows up....info may come in handy for others who decide to signup with Elexa and wonder why the card verification charge "immediately" hits your bank acct but the voiding of that charge does not.  

 

 

 

My earlier posts above talked my registration and "payment option" setup on the Elexa by EGAT charging app.  During the payment verification process where I used my Bangkok Bank "debit" card Bt12.42 was immediately debited from my bank acct and supposedly immediately voided/credited by Elexa.  However, the Bt12.42 showed as a debit on my bank account with no accompanying Bt12.42 credit.   This occurred on 8 Oct.  Today (31 Oct) as I was scanning thru my account transactions for the last month I noticed that on 25 Oct I received a Bt12.42 credit....a credit 17 days after the debit.  

 

I expect if I had used a "credit" card as payment option (I do not have a Thai credit card) the process of charging Bt12.42 immediately followed by a Bt12.42 credit would have indeed probably occurred immediately....OR, the Bt12.42 charge would have remained in Pending status for a few days and then disappeared.   But with a debit card it appears the process works a little differently and the crediting of funds back to your bank acct takes approx 2.5 weeks--at least here in Thailand.

 

Anyway, I got my Bt12.42 back without doing anymore follow-ups after that initial contact with Elexa Customer Support back on 8 Oct....just took a while for Alexa by EGAT and Thai banking system to balance their books.

[Andrew Dwyer]

On 10/31/2023 at 7:08 PM, Pib said:

 

 

 

My earlier posts above talked my registration and "payment option" setup on the Elexa by EGAT charging app.  During the payment verification process where I used my Bangkok Bank "debit" card Bt12.42 was immediately debited from my bank acct and supposedly immediately voided/credited by Elexa.  However, the Bt12.42 showed as a debit on my bank account with no accompanying Bt12.42 credit.   This occurred on 8 Oct.  Today (31 Oct) as I was scanning thru my account transactions for the last month I noticed that on 25 Oct I received a Bt12.42 credit....a credit 17 days after the debit.  

 

I expect if I had used a "credit" card as payment option (I do not have a Thai credit card) the process of charging Bt12.42 immediately followed by a Bt12.42 credit would have indeed probably occurred immediately....OR, the Bt12.42 charge would have remained in Pending status for a few days and then disappeared.   But with a debit card it appears the process works a little differently and the crediting of funds back to your bank acct takes approx 2.5 weeks--at least here in Thailand.

 

Anyway, I got my Bt12.42 back without doing anymore follow-ups after that initial contact with Elexa Customer Support back on 8 Oct....just took a while for Alexa by EGAT and Thai banking system to balance their books.

Thanks @Pib, some very useful information there.

 

I have followed in your footsteps and registered for the same 4 charging apps as yourself but only EV PluZ would accept my Bangkok Bank debit card and sent an OTP.

The other 3 were not accepted.

With your success with a BKK Bank debit card I wondered if your card is Union Pay like mine or Mastercard/Visa.

[Pib]

15 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Thanks @Pib, some very useful information there.

 

I have followed in your footsteps and registered for the same 4 charging apps as yourself but only EV PluZ would accept my Bangkok Bank debit card and sent an OTP.

The other 3 were not accepted.

With your success with a BKK Bank debit card I wondered if your card is Union Pay like mine or Mastercard/Visa.

It's a Mastercard.

[Andrew Dwyer]

1 minute ago, Pib said:

It's a Mastercard.

Okay thanks, that’s the problem for sure.

[mistral53]

I used EleXA for a quick top up for the first time yesterday - and it was Tesla quick......... plug in, select charging level on app (I set it to 40%) confirm, wait for about 30 sec for comm to establish - and it started charging. Ramping up to 120 kW in less than a minute, charged to the selected 40% in 8 minutes, during which time I helped a first-time user on the second cable to get his Good Cat refilled, unplugged, paid, drove off.

 

BTW - in that order! I paid after I charged, via QR code and bank app - that rocks!

 

Last but not least - got the tax invoice for my records in my email within minutes.

[Gweiloman]

22 hours ago, mistral53 said:

I used EleXA for a quick top up for the first time yesterday - and it was Tesla quick......... plug in, select charging level on app (I set it to 40%) confirm, wait for about 30 sec for comm to establish - and it started charging. Ramping up to 120 kW in less than a minute, charged to the selected 40% in 8 minutes, during which time I helped a first-time user on the second cable to get his Good Cat refilled, unplugged, paid, drove off.

 

BTW - in that order! I paid after I charged, via QR code and bank app - that rocks!

 

Last but not least - got the tax invoice for my records in my email within minutes.

I really like EleXA except for no off peak rates and PT stations have very little to offer in terms of passing the time.

[Pib]

Update:  Ok, to date I have registered "and successfully used" the following chargers/charging apps which gives me access to approx 3,089 DC Fast Chargers (CCS2 connector) out of  3540 DC Fast Chargers (CCS2) in Thailand.  Or said another way, I have access to 87% of the DC Fast Chargers in Thailand.   

 

And when I say "used" I mean just for a few minutes each time to ensure the app, me, chargers, and EV get along--real world 100% operational tests.  Just getting registered and payment option setup with an app does not confirm it will work for you until you do an operational test.  And during those operational tests you learn about the small differences in how the apps operate, how long they take to make a connection/to start charging, and also how long to disconnect/close out the charging session.  

 

All my uses were with DC Fast Chargers...I didn't use any Level Two 7-22KWH chargers also offered by the apps/charging stations.  You use the apps the same way with the slower Level Two chargers...I was only interested in using/testing DC Fast Chargers to "quickly" charge.   I only plan to occasionally use DC Fast Chargers when/if making a long trip which will require me to recharger before I can get back home here in Bangkok.  My day-to-day charging is covered by my home 7KWH wall chargers.   

 

As a payment option in the apps I use my Bangkok Bank "debit" card (Mastercard) to pay directly with the debit card or top-up my wallet in each app....and a few of the apps also allow direct payment via QR payment or QR top-up of your wallet..   And in those case where an app required an ID/passport to registered I used my Thai Pink ID card.

 

Charging Apps I have registered with "and used to Fast Charge"

1. - PTT EV Station Pluz (have used multiple times)

2. - PEA Volta (have used multiple times)

3. - Elexa by Egat (used first time today)

4. - EA Anywhere (used first time today)

 

I have also registered with the ReverSharger app but haven't tried actually using it yet. I only registered for it since Revers Automotive is the official distributor of BYD EVs in Thailand and thought access to their chargers usually at BYD dealerships for my BYD Atto 3 might come in handy some day.   I also may register with the Altervim which has burst onto the scene over the last year primarily in partnership with EV charging parks at select Lotus's malls....and Atervim seems to be expanding pretty fast.

  

 

 

List of EV chargers in Thailand as of 30 Sep 2023.

[Pib]

16 hours ago, Pib said:

 

I have also registered with the ReverSharger app but haven't tried actually using it yet. I only registered for it since Revers Automotive is the official distributor of BYD EVs in Thailand and thought access to their chargers usually at BYD dealerships for my BYD Atto 3 might come in handy some day.   

 

Update regarding the ReverSharger app:  while I had registered with ReverSharger I had "not" setup a payment option...that is, enter a credit/debit card to pay for charging.   I tried this morning (multiple times) with two of my Bangkok Bank Mastercard Debit cards for two different accounts and the app does not accept them....I simply get a "Your card is not supported" message.  Now the card entry area does say "Add credit/debit"  so that means it should be happy with a debit card...a lot of apps simply say "credit" but they still accept debit cards. 

 

The ReverSharger add credit/debit card area "does" apparently allow entry of a "non-Thailand" credit/debit card as you have to select the country of the card is from in a pull down menu when entering the card info.  I may attempt entering my Krungsri Visa debit card or one of my "U.S." credit/debit cards in the future (the US is in their pull down menu) if I really need to start using the ReverSharger app/chargers....but until I need to start using ReverSharger I probably will not attempt to add my Krungsri debit card or one of my US credit/debit cards as a payment option.   

The app does not offer any other payment option such as QR payment.

 

As mentioned earlier the PTT EV Station Pluz, PEA Volta, Elexa by Egat, and EA Anywhere charging apps happily accepted my Bangkok Bank debit card.   

 

Yeap...this is an example of where a person may be able to register with an app....think they are home free now and decided to leave loading a payment option till later as you don't want your card info in the app system until you really need to use the app...but when trying to setup a payment option they run into a brick wall. 

 

Goes to show until you register, set-up a payment option in the app,  and  do an actual charging test you just don't know if a charging app will work out for you.

 

 

[Elkski]

It looks like its getting easier to charge.  I just bought a low milage 22' mazda cx5 ICE so probably wont be going ev anytime soon here in USA.  

[Pib]

On 12/24/2023 at 6:52 PM, Pib said:

Update:  Ok, to date I have registered "and successfully used" the following chargers/charging apps which gives me access to approx 3,089 DC Fast Chargers (CCS2 connector) out of  3540 DC Fast Chargers (CCS2) in Thailand.  Or said another way, I have access to 87% of the DC Fast Chargers in Thailand.   

 

And when I say "used" I mean just for a few minutes each time to ensure the app, me, chargers, and EV get along--real world 100% operational tests.  Just getting registered and payment option setup with an app does not confirm it will work for you until you do an operational test.  And during those operational tests you learn about the small differences in how the apps operate, how long they take to make a connection/to start charging, and also how long to disconnect/close out the charging session.  

 

All my uses were with DC Fast Chargers...I didn't use any Level Two 7-22KWH chargers also offered by the apps/charging stations.  You use the apps the same way with the slower Level Two chargers...I was only interested in using/testing DC Fast Chargers to "quickly" charge.   I only plan to occasionally use DC Fast Chargers when/if making a long trip which will require me to recharger before I can get back home here in Bangkok.  My day-to-day charging is covered by my home 7KWH wall chargers.   

 

As a payment option in the apps I use my Bangkok Bank "debit" card (Mastercard) to pay directly with the debit card or top-up my wallet in each app....and a few of the apps also allow direct payment via QR payment or QR top-up of your wallet..   And in those case where an app required an ID/passport to registered I used my Thai Pink ID card.

 

Charging Apps I have registered with "and used to Fast Charge"

1. - PTT EV Station Pluz (have used multiple times)

2. - PEA Volta (have used multiple times)

3. - Elexa by Egat (used first time today)

4. - EA Anywhere (used first time today)

 

I have also registered with the ReverSharger app but haven't tried actually using it yet. I only registered for it since Revers Automotive is the official distributor of BYD EVs in Thailand and thought access to their chargers usually at BYD dealerships for my BYD Atto 3 might come in handy some day.   I also may register with the Altervim which has burst onto the scene over the last year primarily in partnership with EV charging parks at select Lotus's malls....and Atervim seems to be expanding pretty fast.

  

 

 

List of EV chargers in Thailand as of 30 Sep 2023.

 

Another Update:  Last night I successfully registered with the Lotus's Altervim Charger app and which has 204 DC Fast Chargers around the country at "many" Lotus's Malls....see above snapshot in my previous post.   I used my Bangkok Bank Mastercard debit card as a payment option.  There was no verification of the card while loading it as a payment option....by verification I mean like debiting a small amount from my acct, getting a OTP code to verify the online charge, etc....the app just accepted it.  

 

OK, today I do a real world test at my nearby Lotus's Mall here in Bangkok.  Using the DC Fast Charger and App is VERY EASY....the easiest of the various charging apps and chargers I'm registered with/have used.

 

When starting the DC Fast Charger charging session you have to enter "X-amount of minutes" you want to use the charger" and the minimum amount you can select is 10 minutes.  Since I just wanted to do a test to ensure the charger and my BYD Atto would get along AND my payment option really worked, I only entered 10 minutes.  After entering this info the app continued by automatically charging my debit card a Bt100 fee....I thought OK as a 10 minute charge would probably cost me around Bt78 and hopefully I will get refunded around Bt22 after the charging completes in 10 minutes.  

 

At exactly 10 minutes the charging stopped....a charge of little over Bt78 was automatically sent to my bank and it appeared to be successful based on the SMS I got from Bangkok Bank.  And when I looked at my Bangkok Bank acct there was no Bt100 charge but that little over Bt78 charge.  Things are still looking like a successful test.  BUT then I look in the Altervim app History section and it shows the transaction/payment failed and was asking me to Pay again...it even had a little Pay icon in the History area next to the failed payment transaction.  So, I hit that Pay icon and once again it charged a little over Bt78 to my Bangkok Bank acct and the History section said it was a successful payment this time.  But now my Bangkok Bank acct shows two charges for Bt78 like I had been double charged....that first charge had not fallen off (or at least not yet).

 

I contacted Altervim Customer Service via their LINE address (no phone number to call...only a LINE acct or an email address).  Over the last hours my LINE chat session has went back and forth regarding the apparent double charge although they sent me a copy of one of their docs saying the 1st payment failed on their end so they didn't get paid.  However, as mentioned, two Bt78 charges are still showing in my Bangkok Bank acct.    Altervim wants me to check with my bank regarding the first charge....see if the bank system shows it as a failed charge that will fail off my acct in the coming days/weeks, etc.   I did have a similar issue with the Elexa by Egat app when registering/loading a payment option with them where they said a payment had been refunded same day but it did not appear as a credit on my bank acct until around 18 days later.  Summary: hopefully this double charge issue will automatically clear up over the coming weeks.

 

But as mentioned Altervim registration was easy....no ID card/passport of any kind required.  My Thai bank debit card was accepted as payment option in the app.  And actual use of the Altervim DC Fast Charger is VERY EASY.   So, I now have many more DC Fast Chargers around the country available for my "infrequent" use....just when I do a   l...o....n....g   trip from home that will require me to charge up in order to get back home.   

 

I now have access to 5 charger apps (with payment options loaded) offered by PTT EV Station Pluz, PEA Volta, Elexa by Egat, EA Anywhere, and now Altervim....totals up 3,293 Fast Chargers around Thailand (93%)  out of a total of 3,540 Fast Chargers in Thailand right now.    I have done real world tests on all 5 apps. 

 

And although I'm also registered with ReverSharger which has 103 DC Fast Chargers mostly at BYD Dealerships that app will not accept my Bangkok Bank Mastercard debit card...nor does it accept the bank UnionPay debit card....I "may" attempt to see if it will accept one of my US credit cards or my Krungsri debit card, but since it seems the great, great majority all of the ReverSharger DC Fast chargers are in the greater Bangkok area where I live I really don't need to sign up with them as the location where I would need to use a charger is "far away from Bangkok" during any long trips from my Bangkok home.

 

Yea....I think I'm pretty well covered by the 5 apps/chargers (PTT EV Station Pluz, PEA Volta, Elexa by Egat, EA Anywhere, and Altervim) I have successfully registered with, loaded a payment option, and done real world charging tests.

 

Edited January 5 by Pib

[Pib]

Some more crossfeed on Altervim.  They have 100 locations across Thailand....99 of them at Lotus's stores and 1 at the CP Leadership Institute (CPLI) in Nakhon Ratchasima.    CP owns Lotus's and the CPLI chargers are for internal use only.  So, there are 99 locations available to the common man.  

 

Since a person can't see the locations until registering on the Altervim app I thought I would show the locations.  The first pic below shows the locations during the hours Lotus's are open which is typically 8am to 9pm or 10pm....a few Lotus's are open 24 hours a day.  Green drop-pins means the locations are open/chargers operational....gray drop-pins mean the locations are closed/inop.  2nd pic shows locations when a Lotus's is closed which is typically after 9pm or 10pm till 8am in the morning.

 

1st Snapshot during mid day....when the locations are open 8pm to 9pm/10pm

 

 

 

2nd Snapshot after 10pm at night....till 8am in the morning.  The few green drop-pins

are for the Lotus's that are open 24 hours a day.

 

 

Edited January 6 by Pib

[Gweiloman]

What’s the rate at these chargers? Are there on and off peak rates?

[Pib]

16 hours ago, Gweiloman said:

What’s the rate at these chargers? Are there on and off peak rates?

 

No on and off peak rate pricing; just a flat Bt7.50 per KWH for DC Fast Charging (a.k.a., Super Charge) and AC charging (a.k.a. Normal Charge) Bt60 per hour.  And then throw the 7% VAT on top.   Below snapshot is from the app.   

 

 

 

[Pib]

 

 

Use instructions on Altervim Chargers.  But it's a little detailed/involved when actually

using the Altervim app....but not much more involved...very simple to use.

 

Edit: almost forgot, the "charger itself" has a pretty clear and large display screen where you can check

current charge details (or just look at the app...but there are more details given on the charger

screen itself).   You can select Thai or English language by the icon at the top right of the screen.  

 

 

Altervim DC Fast Charger (150KW)....both connectors in use (one hooked to by my Atto...and I was getting 

an 80KWH charge rate (max charge rate for my Atto is 88KWH)

 

 

 

Altervim AC Type 2 (11KW) Charger. 

 

Edited January 7 by Pib

[BenStark]

30 minutes ago, Pib said:

No on and off peak rate pricing; just a flat Bt7.50 per KWH for DC Fast Charging

 

So to charge the average EV when making a long distance trip, unless you want to book a hotel room, would cost over 3000 baht for another 500 km?

 

And I always see those posts here that EV are sooooo much cheaper than ICE

[Pib]

6 minutes ago, BenStark said:

 

So to charge the average EV when making a long distance trip, unless you want to book a hotel room, would cost over 3000 baht for another 500 km?

 

And I always see those posts here that EV are sooooo much cheaper than ICE

 

Don't know what kind of math you are using but let's say I needed to fully charge my BYD Atto which has a 60KWH battery which gives me approx 480Km of range.   Most BEV's running around Thailand right now have batteries in the 40-80KWH ballpark...with the great majority being around 60KWH.

 

OK, my battery is flat/0% charge left when I pull-up to the Atervim charger.  The charger is going to have to pump 60KWH worth of electric fuel into my Atto to fill it up to 100% charge.   At Bt7.5 per KWH and 60KWH being pumped into my battery to fill it up then 7.5 times 60 = Bt450....add on 7% VAT and the total charge would by Bt481.50.   Well, actually due to charging losses it will actually pump a little more than 60KWH to fill-up the battery...maybe even up to 65KWH....but let's not complicate the math right now with that.  

 

OK, I'm good for another 480Km of driving....but driving 480Km in my Toyota Fortuner 3.0L Diesel costs me Bt2.88/Km in diesel full cost (inc VAT)......2.88 times 480 = Bt1,382.40 in diesel fuel costs which is almost three times as much as the Bt481.50 in electric fuel costs from that DC Fast Charger which was charging they typical Bt7.5 per KWH off peak rate here in Thailand....and if it had been a charger using an off peak rate of Bt4.5 per KWH then my electric fuel cost would have only been Bt288.90 vsBt481.50 which is almost 5 times cheaper per Km driven.    

 

Total time to accomplish the DC Fast Charger would be approx 1 hour.   I guess a person could go stay in a hotel for that 1 hour (hopefully the hotel have short-time rate vs only an overnight rate) while the EV is charging....I'm pretty sure a 1 hour stay at a hotel would be less than a overnight stay at Bt3,000.   

 

But seriously, in "some" countries/locales where they have VERY HIGH electricity rates (for home, business, and EV charger use) but the petrol/diesel fuel costs are not so high then in some cases use of a DC Fast Charger might not save you much money on a trip.   But here is Thailand and most countries electricity rates are much cheaper than petrol/diesel fuel costs and a long trip using DC Fast Chargers will still be a lot cheaper than driving a petrol/diesel ICE vehicle.

 

[BenStark]

12 minutes ago, Pib said:

Don't know what kind of math you are using but let's say I needed to fully charge my BYD Atto which has a 60KWH battery which gives me approx 480Km of range.   Most BEV's running around Thailand right now have batteries in the 40-80KWH ballpark...with the great majority being around 60KWH.

 

Sorry my wrong, i should have double checked first, as I was of the impression that the average EV battery was 400 Kwh

[Pib]

11 minutes ago, BenStark said:

 

Sorry my wrong, i should have double checked first, as I was of the impression that the average EV battery was 400 Kwh

No sweat.  On a worldwide basis the average EV battery size is around 70KWH when considering full size and compact vehicles the typical person drives around.  See below EV Database webpage.

https://ev-database.org/cheatsheet/useable-battery-capacity-electric-car

 

 

Now a vehicle with a 400KWH battery would be some commercial vehicle like an electric bus that drives around town all day, all night like the blue electric buses here in Bangkok....maybe some construction trucks/special purpose vehicles.....not something you or me would be driving.  Cheers.

Edited January 7 by Pib

[Gweiloman]

16 hours ago, BenStark said:

 

Sorry my wrong, i should have double checked first, as I was of the impression that the average EV battery was 400 Kwh

You were a bit too eager to pick another point to criticise EVs. That’s ok. Unlike what some others say, we aren’t EVangelists and are always happy to correct facts and provide more information to anyone that is genuinely interested.

[Gweiloman]

Not sure if anyone noticed but the PEA app has a cool feature that shows you the SOC of a car that is currently charging there. This gives you an idea of whether to go to another CS or not. If there are 2 chargers at a particular station (majority of them), you need to zoom in and expand the screen and you can see the status for both chargers.

[Gweiloman]

This gives those who don’t yet own an EV a real indication of the cost of travelling in an EV (don’t worry about the member number. It does nothing and reveals nothing). As you can see, it costs 5.3 baht per kWh, off peak at PEA Volta CSS. How many kms/kWh you can depends on your car, how much Weight you are carrying, how fast you drive, the terrain, traffic conditions etc. In my fully loaded SUV, it is about 1 baht per km. I usually cruise at between 80-95 kmh. That’s a good enough speed for me at my age.

 

You will notice in Khon Kaen that I charged twice. That’s because I had set my charge limit initially to 80% but I hadn’t finished eating my lunch so decided to charge some more (no one else was waiting else I would have stopped to let them charge).

[Pib]

@Gweiloman

The PEA app has an "Autocharge" function/setting in the Profile menu which based on the little bit of info I have found on it and one Thai language Youtube video that when you have your EV registered in the app and the Autocharge setting turned on (which I do), when you plug in your EV you don't have to go thru various steps in the app to get a charge session going....it just starts by itself after about 30 seconds of your EV and charger establishing a link.   As far as I know being registered in the app just means you have completed the app registration entries which I have done.

 

Now when doing my very first use of a PEA charger probably around 2 months ago at the very end of that process a pop-up menu displayed asking me if I wanted to setup AutoCharge but since it asked me that question out of the blue on my first use of the app/charger and at that time I didn't know what AutoCharge was so I just hit cancel to make that popup menu/message go away so I could complete the very final step of finishing the charging session.  Plus I still had my red tags so I couldn't even enter my Vehicle Registration License Plates (white) number since I didn't have my white plates yet...still running red plates and I just had 12345 entered in my Profile for a license plate number.  As as far I know entering your license plate number is optional.

 

Now I have used the PEA app a 2nd time about a month ago and the AutoCharge setting was turned on during that 2nd use...and I'm not sure if I still had my red plates at that time....but the Autocharge function don't seem to work for me although I have the Autocharge function turned on and now have white plates license entered.

 

 Maybe the problem is I'm not waiting long enough....maybe the Autocharge will work and I'm just not waiting longer enough...maybe a person has to wait 30 or more seconds as the EV and charger communicate with each other. 

 

On my next PEA charger use I will wait longer...maybe up to a minute to see if the Autocharge kicks in.  But if it does take that long to work "Automatically" I think I would just instead click the app settings manually to get the charging session started sooner versus waiting for the Autocharge communications to kick-in.

 

And maybe the Autocharge only works if you have a RFID card registered in the app....but I don't think this is the situation based on what little info I have found on the subject, that youtube video, etc.

 

Yea, just wondering if Autocharge works for you?  If it does how long does it take to kick-in, any special steps a person must follow, etc.  Thanks.

 

 

Edit:  I found another Thai language video where they talk a little about the Autocharge regristration process and apparently all you need to do is to have your license plate number entered and the Autocharge setting turned on....see last snapshot where they started to enter the car license plate number.  

 

Snapshot from my PEA Volta Profile Menu

 

 

 

 

Edited January 8 by Pib