Former District 20 State Rep. Abbas Akhil was waiting for the two Teslas to finish charging at the North Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center ChargePoint station when he asked if one of the vehicles was ready to be unplugged. Akhil needed to charge his Tesla, but the owners of the two vehicles already plugged in were nowhere in sight.
“They should put a super charger here,” Akhil said when asked about the charging station. He said the Tesla Supercharger station at 2600 Menaul Blvd. is in a “bad location.” Akhil said the North Domingo location would be better suited for a Supercharger because of the demographics.
The free ChargePoint station at North Domingo is one of four electric vehicle charging stations located east of Interstate 25 near Paseo del Norte Boulevard, according to the website ChargeHub. The website shows that the ChargePoint station at 5910 Holley Ave. in the Springhill Suites by Marriot parking lot has two plugs that cost $1.32 an hour. Users can access the station through the ChargeHub App, Network App or Network RFID. Charging stations at community centers are free and can be accessed through the same apps.
Akhil explained that a Tesla Supercharger will get him 600 miles in one hour of charging. He said it would take about 20 minutes to get him the 300 miles he needed. Most charging stations in Albuquerque are Level 2 stations, which take longer than Tesla’s Supercharger or ChargePoint’s DC Fast charging stations. According to ChargePoint’s website, a Level 2 CT4000 charger provides a range per hour of 25. Range per hour is the estimated maximum miles of range a charging station delivers per hour of charging.
An Express 100 DC fast charger provides 100 RPH, and an Express 200 DC fast charging station provides 200 RPH. According to Tesla’s website, a Supercharger can provide up to 200 miles in 15 minutes, but there is no mention of RPH. Electric vehicle owners can also buy personal, at-home chargers or plug into a 220-volt electrical outlet, but home charging can take up to 20 hours or longer to get a battery to full capacity.
The ChargeHub website indicates there are two more charging stations close to the one on Holly Avenue and the one at the multigenerational center. One is located at Mercedes-Benz of Albuquerque at 8920 Pan American Freeway and the other is at Larry H. Miller American Toyota at 5995 Alameda Blvd. Akhil said the charging station at the Toyota location is not always working.
For any electric vehicle owner in Albuquerque, ChargeHub provides a map of 69 stations throughout the city, with 41 of them being free. According to the website, 75% of the charging stations are Level 2 and 24% are Level 3 stations. To see the map and learn more about EV charging stations visit chargehub.com.
For Tesla owners, Akhil said the Tesla Owners Club of New Mexico is re-forming and has about 500 members. As of March 25, there were 609 members on the Tesla Owners Club of New Mexico Meetup app. The Meetup site says the group is, “For people who live in New Mexico and who own Tesla electric cars and want to exchange tips, stories, news, know-how, techniques, ideas for great scenic drives in NM, etc.”