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A few days in the past, I got here throughout a really fascinating announcement from Electrify America. Utilizing widespread PR converse, they stated, “We’re conscious of an incident at an Electrify America charging station … and have taken the charging station offline whereas we examine.” Whereas most issues with chargers are known as “points” or “technical difficulties,” this one was described as an “incident,” which usually refers to an accident or emergency of some sort. So, I regarded into it extra.

The PlugShare web page for the charger initially had photos of a burnt energy cupboard, and this remark from somebody making an attempt to make use of the chargers:

The principle energy modules had been burned nearly past recognition. It can seemingly be months earlier than they are often changed. This unit provides all electrical energy to the 4 chargers a number of toes away. I spoke with a technician who was making an attempt to evaluate the harm. This station was formally opened for charging on Might 31, 2023, so it didn’t survive a full 12 months. No extra charging for the foreseeable future at this location. The fireplace didn’t harm the chargers or the cables, simply the primary energy unit a number of toes to the north of the chargers. The EA app has now eliminated any point out of its existence.

I despatched the commenter a message, and he was pleased to share a photograph that had been faraway from PlugShare.

The Mistaken Reply Some Of Us Speculated On

This picture (which made its manner onto X/Twitter from screenshots earlier than it was eliminated) led some folks on social media to consider that the ability cupboard itself was the supply of the hearth. Sadly, this concept does have some credibility, as footage of a smoking Electrify America station was floating round on social media in late 2022.

*Launguage Warning* – This appears to be the older EA put in Signet chargers exploding fuses and smoking. TikTok from contracted service personnel on website, hyperlinks beneath. In keeping with this account there’s a large inspection / alternative marketing campaign occurring nation huge. pic.twitter.com/YyfUvHYUHC

— Charge Your Cost (@RateYourCharge) December 30, 2022

Along with this footage of a smoking energy cupboard, there have been a number of tales from PlugShare customers and others on social media who reported listening to pops and bangs from energy cupboards, with a number of folks having their car broken by older Electrify America chargers. Sadly, because the extra heavily-used stations went by extra heavy obligation cycles, these stations began failing a LOT in 2022 and 2023, with these smoking, popping, and vehicle-damaging occasions main Electrify America to re-orient the corporate’s buildout technique away from community growth and towards changing these older stations with newer designs that might survive.

However, however, Electrify America has been changing lots of these older energy modules in current months. The corporate gained’t reveal whether or not the brand new modules are of an upgraded design that can make these stations work nicely long-term or in the event that they’re simply new modules of the identical outdated design that can solely purchase the corporate time. We do know that the corporate has made critical enhancements in reliability and pace on the chargers with new modules, although.

I reached out to Electrify America to see if this was an outdated set of modules that had gone up spectacularly, and the corporate’s rep advised me that assuming that was “untimely” as a result of native authorities had been investigating the reason for the hearth. So, I waited and held the story till the investigation may decide one thing.

What Actually Occurred

What got here out the following day was a little bit of a shock. Electrify America and its suppliers had been to not blame in any respect. The fireplace was really arson!

Native and federal authorities are investigating a hearth that was deliberately began early Monday morning at Electrify America’s charging station in Mesa, Arizona. Our staff is totally cooperating with the prison investigation underway. No electrical autos had been charging at or… https://t.co/X3MbhV6tEp

— Electrify America (@ElectrifyAm) March 27, 2024

Now, not solely state and native, however federal authorities had been in on the investigation. This seemingly implies that as an act of arson towards interstate commerce, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (aka ATF) is now concerned (and doing one thing apart from giving the cartels weapons!). Whereas we don’t have a lot data but, this federal involvement implies that it’s a reasonably critical act of arson, so particulars from the investigation ought to show to be fascinating.

In the event you frequent this charger and noticed one thing, or you may have another data that might assist police and federal brokers examine this, you must attain out to Mesa, Arizona’s Police Division. 

Whodunit? (Some Hypothesis)

The rationale I explored the mistaken reply earlier than entering into the restricted particulars of the arson wasn’t solely to inform the story as I skilled it. In some methods, this historical past of minor burning of energy modules means this might have been the work of a extra subtle prison than we’d assume. From the pictures, it appears like they set the ability modules on hearth first, which implies that the arsonist could have identified that this is able to throw investigators off.

So, it’s potential that the objective of the arsonist right here was to discredit Electrify America particularly. However, once more, that is solely hypothesis. It may have additionally been a fortunate throw of a Molotov cocktail or no matter they set the station alight with that occurred to hit an element identified for issues.

This might have additionally been the work of a much less subtle individual partaking in an act of political violence. In the event that they don’t comply with Electrify America as intently as fans and EV journalists do, they in all probability did know that this was an electrical car charging station. Doing one thing to set the gear on hearth may due to this fact have been an act aimed to discredit electrical autos on the whole. 

One factor I don’t consider for a second was that this wasn’t a focused act of violence. Whereas folks interact in arson for all types of causes, there’s often some objective or goal concerned. With brilliant inexperienced lights and what’s clearly an EV charging station, this needed to be an act towards the station, and thus an act towards a goal that’s demonized by folks like Donald Trump. In current days, he even painted EVs as a menace to the way forward for america utilizing phrases like “blood bathtub” and “assassination.”

As with all types of stochastic terror, you may’t draw a direct hyperlink between the individual portray the targets and the one that did it. That’s intentional. However, it’s an efficient manner for the leaders of political extremist actions to get the outcomes they need with out struggling penalties.

So, it’s in all probability a good suggestion to extend safety and surveillance at different EV charging stations. There ought to at the least be some respectable cameras pointed at them to assist prosecute individuals who do stuff like this.

Featured picture courtesy of Robert Brabenec.