- The US Secretary of Energy embarked on a road trip to promote electric vehicles.
- Jennifer Granholm and her team encountered a predictable problem: a lack of electric vehicle chargers.
- The obstruction even prompted police intervention at one point during the ride, NPR reported.
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When the U.S. Secretary of Energy and her team embarked on a road trip to promote electric vehicles, they encountered a predictable but frustrating obstacle: the lack of electric vehicle chargers.
In fact, there are only about three electric vehicle charging stations per 10,000 people in the United States, Insider reported in April.
The lack of chargers was such a problem for Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and her team that police eventually intervened, NPR reported.
The caravan of electric vehicles that traveled four days from Charlotte to Memphis stalled in Grovestown, Georgia. The group was planning a fast charge when they realized there wouldn’t be enough electric vehicle chargers because one was broken and the others were in use, NPR reported.
Therefore, an employee of the Department of Energy tried to save one of the places with a petrol car.
It was a muggy day and the move didn’t go well for the family, who were also waiting for a loading bay. The situation escalated to the point that the family, who was driving with a baby in the car, called the police, but they had no authority to intervene since blocking an electric vehicle charging station with a gasoline-powered car is not illegal in Georgia. NPR reported.
While Granholm and her team worked to smooth things over, eventually giving space to the family and directing some of their own vehicles to slower charging stations, the incident highlighted the urgent need for improved electric vehicle infrastructure.
“This is perfectly normal,” a passerby driving an electric BMW told NPR. “They’ll get there eventually.”