A Telstra service outage is currently disrupting leading electric vehicle (EV) charging network Chargefox, with connectivity issues and difficulties accessing charging services affecting Australian customers.
The outage affected both charging stations and the Chargefox app, and there’s no timeline yet on how long the outage will affect the company.
“At 3.30am on Sunday (June 2), one of our two Telstra networks went down,” Chargefox CEO John Sullivan said. Car expert.
“We discovered there was a problem with the Telstra network and technicians were dispatched that morning. They deduced that there was a problem with the infrastructure at the top and installed a new unit.
“By 6pm on Sunday, we received an update stating the changes made did not fix the issue. At 8am on Monday (June 3), Telstra provided us with another update saying they had found the issue and were looking into fixing it.”
If you happen to pass by an electric vehicle charging station within the Chargefox network, you can still charge your vehicle.
“Some of our chargers are configured to go into ‘semi-free’ mode [depending on the owners of the chargers]. This means that if you use a charger, it can be provided for free, while others will monitor every kWh leaving the charger,” Mr. Sullivan explained.
“However, communication between available chargers and our app is not working properly, so we don’t know if every charger has switched to free sales mode.”
Because Western Australia’s EV highway chargers are managed by Horizon and Synergy, they have automatically switched to open sales mode, during times when disconnections or communication restrictions have occurred.
Fortunately for urban drivers, there are plenty of opportunities to charge your vehicle at other available stations.
“If your ‘favorite’ charger doesn’t work, there’s another charger that works nearby,” Mr. Sullivan said. I don’t think people in urban areas will be stranded because our network is so extensive that it gives drivers many options.”
For rural areas, Mr. Sullivan advised electric vehicle drivers to be more mindful when planning their next charge, as long as they have access to a charger.
“Unfortunately, rural areas are different. If there are other chargers that are guaranteed to work, use those. I wouldn’t count on the charger being able to work.”
Last weekChargefox has announced that its app now displays and provides access to 60 NRMA charging locations, allowing EV drivers to use one platform and account instead of many.
