Sec. Granholm's road trip in an EV
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Granholm's trip through the southeast, from Charlotte, N.C., to Memphis, Tenn., was intended to draw attention to the billions of dollars the White House is pouring into green energy and clean cars. The administration's ambitious energy agenda, if successful, could significantly cut U.S. emissions and reshape Americans' lives in fundamental ways, including by putting many more people in electric vehicles.
But between stops, Granholm's entourage at times had to grapple with the limitations of the present. Like when her caravan of EVs — including a luxury Cadillac Lyriq, a hefty Ford F-150 and an affordable Bolt electric utility vehicle — was planning to fast-charge in Grovetown, a suburb of Augusta, Georgia.
Her advance team realized there weren't going to be enough plugs to go around. One of the station's four chargers was broken, and others were occupied. So an Energy Department staffer tried parking a nonelectric vehicle by one of those working chargers to reserve a spot for the approaching secretary of energy.
That did not go down well: a regular gas-powered car blocking the only free spot for a charger?
In fact, a family that was boxed out — on a sweltering day, with a baby in the vehicle — was so upset they decided to get the authorities involved: They called the police.
The sheriff's office couldn't do anything. It's not illegal for a non-EV to claim a charging spot in Georgia. Energy Department staff scrambled to smooth over the situation, including sending other vehicles to slower chargers, until both the frustrated family and the secretary had room to charge.
Short Version:
- Problem 1: Planning is cumbersome
- Problem 2: Not enough chargers
- Problem 3: Not fast enough
- Problem 4: Not reliable enough
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The buck stop where??
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Thursday addressed her now-infamous electric vehicle charging fiasco, saying her "young" staffers showed "poor judgment" when they used a gas-powered car to hoard a spot for Granholm at a crowded public station.
Granholm during a congressional hearing confirmed the ordeal, which took place during the Biden administration official's June electric vehicle promotion tour. She did not, however, take responsibility for the incident, instead blaming "somebody" on her team for making a "mistake."
"I wasn't saving the spot. But let me just say—I have a fantastic young staff. Just fantastic," Granholm said. "I just want to say that somebody made a mistake. … I didn't … It was poor judgment on the part of the team."
