Nick Voris' post to the Facebook Jan 9th regarding DCFC stations.

[Leanne Wiedemann]

Nick VorisKansas City EV and Plug-In Vehicle Enthusiasts

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Recently, questions were raised about Evergy’s decommissioned network of DCFC stations. We (Evergy) appreciate these questions and the opportunity to share additional information. To maximize visibility across this group, this response is provided via a stand-alone post rather than as a reply to the original inquiry.

A history of these DCFC stations is provided in the post shared by Leanne on May 3, 2022, which can be accessed by performing a word search for “Efacec” from the group page. The key points of last May’s post are:

1) The Efacec DCFC stations are vintage 2014 and possess obsolete 3G network hardware

2) While ChargePoint provided a communications upgrade package for their Level 2 stations, Efacec did not provide a communication upgrade path for these “old” DCFC stations

3) Regarding public charging infrastructure, Evergy’s regulators in KS and MO have clearly signaled a preference for non-utility solutions rather than having Evergy expand the Clean Charge Network.

Today, I am pleased to announce that Evergy is working with a hometown company, HiON, to return DCFC to many of the previous charging sites.

HiON is an owner and operator of universal fast charging stations across the US. Jim Frank, CEO and Founder, provided the following thoughts on HiON's first fast charging stations in the Kansas City area:

"We are excited to work with Evergy to upgrade existing charging stations to improve reliability and the user experience. These will be the first of many publicly available stations as we build capacity and coverage in the Midwest. Our hope is that it gives Kansas Citians the confidence that charging will be available and affordable. Investment in charging infrastructure has shown to increase EV adoption within communities."

HiON is already working with five of the six former Efacec charging sites in Kansas, and we’re hopeful the sixth site joins the fold.

Unfortunately, there’s a lower level of opportunity in Missouri. Half the eight Missouri sites are located on Hy-Vee properties, and Hy-Vee has informed Evergy that they are working on another charging approach corporately. In the coming months, HiON will analyze the business case to determine whether to approach the four non-Hy-Vee sites.

Evergy is excited about HiON’s plans and looks forward to additional DCFC charging in our community.

NICK