A Georgia family called the police on Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm after an electric vehicle charging station was blocked by a gas-powered car, which had been parked by a staff member of the Department of Energy.
The event occurred during a four-day road trip that Granholm was taking to demonstrate the effectiveness of electric vehicles. During the trip, the group's caravan was going to charge up at a suburb of Augusta, Georgia, but due to a lack of charging stations needed for all of their vehicles, a staff member with the group parked a nonelectric vehicle by one of the chargers to reserve a spot.
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Shortly after, a family with a baby was planning to charge their vehicle but could not due to the nonelectric vehicle blocking the charger, leading to them calling the police. However, it is not illegal for nonelectric vehicles to park at EV charging stations in Georgia, meaning the police could not do anything about the situation. The Energy Department staff were eventually able to work things out after they sent other vehicles to slower chargers to allow the family to charge their vehicle.
"It's just par for the course," said John Ryan, a driver of an electric BMW who was also waiting to charge his vehicle. "They'll get it together at some point."
Granholm's road trip comes as the Biden administration pushes for electric vehicles in the auto industry, with the Energy Department announcing last month that it would be allocating $2 billion in grants and $10 billion in loans to support automakers and part suppliers. This allocation would be for automakers to retrofit their existing facilities and expand the production of electric vehicles and their components.
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In August, Ford CEO Jim Farley said he received a "reality check" when he tried to charge his electric vehicle during a road trip he took himself. When charging his vehicle, he said his car was only charged to 40% during the 40 minutes he charged it, according to a video he posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.
No surprise charging can be a challenge, but still learning a lot seeing firsthand the issues our customers face. This is why we’re working w/ @Tesla to provide @Ford drivers access to +12,000 superchargers & our EV certified dealers are installing fast chargers at their… pic.twitter.com/fES15o9orT
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) August 13, 2023
Former President Donald Trump, who is running for president again in 2024, has criticized the Biden administration's stance against gas-powered cars and appliances, saying voters want to have a "choice for buying cars and washing machines." He has encouraged auto industry workers to ask their leaders to vote for him in the next presidential election, stating he will "immediately" end the electric vehicle "madness."