On Tuesday, Jan. 29, Electrify America restored full capacity to its entire network following a shutdown due to a potential safety issue with the charging cables.
At the recommendation of its cable supplier, HUBER+SUHNER, Electrify America shut down many of the high-powered CCS chargers (150 kW – 350 kW) in its network while an issue was investigated on the previous Friday, the weekend and Monday.
The recommendation from HUBER+SUHNER came following an isolated event at a private test facility in Europe with an early prototype liquid-cooled cable, similar to those installed on some of Electrify America’s charging dispensers. The shutdown recommendation was issued by HUBER+SUHNER to all customers using liquid-cooled cables worldwide.
Although many of the high-powered CCS chargers were shut down following notification of the potential safety issue, Electrify America was able to keep all 89 charging stations operational in some capacity, considering all charging stations, in addition to the high-powered CCS chargers, have either CHAdeMO, 50kW CCS, or L2 chargers – none of which were affected.
“We thank our customers for their patience as we worked through this, as well as HUBER+SUHNER for making this their top priority and resolving the issue with speed and the highest levels of technical expertise and professionalism,” notes Giovanni Palazzo, president and CEO of Electrify America.
Electrify America, a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group of America, is investing $2 billion over a 10-year period in zero-emission vehicle infrastructure and awareness. The company was created to help fulfill funding requirements under the automaker’s Dieselgate settlement.