I’ve been an EV owner since September 2022 when a Hyundai Ioniq 5 entered our family.

My parents have had a Tesla since 2018 so I had thought it was relatively easy to charge around the state because my father never had an issues when he drove places in the state.

That was my mistake…

I learned the hard way both in November 2021 and January 2022 how hard it is to find reliable CCS (the Hyundai compatible setup) outside of south Florida (thanks, I must begrudgingly say to FPL’s investment in EV’s charging technology) and the drive along I-95 to Jacksonville (thanks to Electrify America which is largely funded by Volkswagen). In November, while my wife and I went to Ocala in my Hyundai, my parents went in their Tesla. They had no trouble charging as Tesla Superchargers are everywhere from each Turnpike rest area while the CCS chargers were sporadic and often didn’t work. As a result, we had major range anxiety, spending half the trip trying to find chargers instead of enjoying Thanksgiving weekend.

In December 2021 we went to St Augustine and Palm Coast and that trip was a breeze because Electrify America which specializes in CCS chargers is setup well along I-95.

But in January 2022, on a trip for soccer business to Orlando, I ran into similar problems as November, with Electrify America chargers at the Florida Mall sporting an hours-long line and Duke Energy powered chargers in Orange and Osceola County often not working at all. Charging on this strip became a debacle and in fact I was in line waiting for a charger at the Florida Mall during the entire Man City-Spurs match in the Premier League so that was at least two hours. The next day I went to charge in the same location and faced a similar backup.

In February 2022, in what turned out to be shockingly, my father’s last road trip he drove us back and forth in one day to Cape Canaveral in his Tesla. We had zero issues charging and therefore had nothing remotely resembling my range anxiety.

During the period where my father was ill and immediately after his passing I regularly drove into the Everglades or Big Cypress but would have to charge up to 100% in order to ensure I made it back without incident.

On a July trip to Central Florida I choose to go to Polk County (Davenport) to charge in order to any sort of risk on the Turnpike or in Orlando.

Last week, we set out on our longest road trip since we got the EV- a soccer-related trip to Foley, Alabama. The EV charging experience was similar to past bouts. No trouble in south Florida where FPL has chargers everywhere or in Pensacola where the recent FPL invasion it turns out does have a slight upside. Also Electrify America chargers in Pensacola were super fast, the best chargers I have used anywhere. We had no need to charge ion Alabama, because going back to Pensacola made sense since the chargers were so good there.

Tallahassee also had its fair share of chargers but unfortunately the areas in Central Florida where Duke Energy reigns were again a problem. On the Turnpike FPL handles service area charging from Pompano Beach to Fort Drum. But when you get north of there you are unlikely to find anything on the Turnpike and with Electrify America having zero stations close to I-75 between Bushnell and Gainesville, you’re stuck.

As a result going north we had to get off the highway, go to the Florida Mall and charge- we were fortunate that there was no line until AFTER we began charging. Coming back we charged to 100% in Gainesville so we could reach the FPL area, which we did with not much room to spare.

It should be noted Electrify America had a great charger setup in Chipley- an unlikely place but one which makes a lot of sense given its almost the halfway point between Pensacola and Tallahassee. Also FPL has chargers in Crestview but we did not need to use them.