Half Speed, Full Price? bp pulse Australia EV charging rates frustrate drivers

Like its petrol station competitor Ampol Ampcharge, bp pulse is also rolling out a network of electric car chargers across Australia.

However like Ampol Ampcharge, bp pulse has a lot of customer experience improvements to make.

Image by - Neerav Bhatt

At present I rate bp pulse higher than Ampol Ampcharge in my personal ranking of Australian EV fast charger networks because

• bp pulse supports conveniently starting & ending charging sessions with an RFID card while Ampol Ampcharge doesn't support this.
• bp pulse offers variable peak/off-peak pricing at some locations which allows EV drivers to save some money by timing their charge during off peak times

bp pulse App

The first problem is that their bp pulse app is terrible.

Almost every single time I open it it tells me my session has expired and makes me log in from scratch again.

On the plus side bp pulse does support RFID cards so I don't need to use their terrible app.

I highly recommend getting an RFID Card and registering it in the BP Pulse app so you don't have to use their app ever again.

Image by - Neerav Bhatt

Grid connection issues

A few days ago while shopping at Marrickville Metro I asked an EV driver parked next to me which was the worst DC fast charger location in the Inner West? Their reply about bp pulse St Peters/Sydenham was unprintable.

For at least 10 months my closest bp pulse location in St Peters/Sydenham has been severely power limited but they're still charging full price 55c/kWh for the unachievable 75kW charging rate that this site advertises in the bp pulse app.

Image by - Neerav Bhatt

Not only is the speed quite slow at about 35kW for one car, if two cars plug in it's even slower ridiculously slow about 17kW each and totally not worth the full price bp pulse have been charging all year.

Aussie EV drivers report that many other bp pulse sites have a similar grid connection limitation issue.

They're advertised as 75kW charge rate but even if only one EV is charging it can't reach anywhere near that maximum advertised charge rate.

I searched through Plugshare comments across Australian bp pulse charging locations and power limiting well below the advertised maximum charge rate appears to be a common frustration for EV drivers.

Here are some examples:

John - BP Heatherbrae - Advertised as 75kw, but when we arrived shows 65kw Max. GRRRR.

patrWatts - BP Wiley Park - Max 47.5kw on either plug if only one car. If two cars plugged in, second car gets slower rate.

Kar-Wai Tam - BP Wiley Park - Charges at 12.4kWh today, waste of time.

Kivuli Tiger - BP Ashfield - Looks like CHAdeMO removed, now 4 CCS for two bays and speed is 56 kW instead of 75 kW

Silvy - BP Ashfield - BP units replaced Evie 75kW but it seems BP ones are 55-56kW. Four cables but only two stalls so what's the point?

NOTANX - BP Revesby - Like many others, slow charge, running at half its capacity, price should be reduced since it can't deliver what should be expected.

Michael - BP Revesby - Slow charger. Only car and 20% battery. Charging at 40kw

Tritium Hardware

One of the main reasons for technical glitches at BP pulse Australian EV charger locations is because they chose to use Tritium fast chargers which have the worst reputation for reliability and ease of use amongst Australian electric car drivers.

Image by - Neerav Bhatt

Advantages of EV Chargers at Service Stations

On the plus side like all petrol stations if you do have to use a BP pulse EV charger then at least you do have the opportunity to use the toilets, buy a snack, buy ice for your car fridge, clean your windshield and pump up the tires if they're starting to get a bit low in pressure.

Some highway bp pulse locations also have a decent choice of meal options.

So a properly working bp pulse charging location that charges at the advertised max rate does have advantages over an electric car charger that is standing just by itself at the side of the road.

Image by - Neerav Bhatt

How Can bp pulse Improve?

• If a bp pulse site is grid connection constrained and the charging rate will be well below maximum for a while, reduce the price accordingly and put a notice on the app for that location saying what the real maximum charge rate will be.
• Plan better so chargers aren't installed at grid constrained locations or use workarounds like load management, onsite batteries or honest maximum charge rate advertised in app.
• Improve app experience in general and especially make the app remember when you've signed in already.
• Hopefully in the future bp pulse choose another fast charger hardware option instead of Tritium.

Customer Reviews

I asked some Australian EV drivers what they thought of bp pulse after they saw my video:

Ant - "Totally agree that the Ampol and BP pulse apps are barely usable. I have previously given up on trying to charge at an Ampol for this reason. I linked my RFID card to BP Pulse for this reason but for some reason couldn't get it to work and had to resort to the app , which was frustrating. I too would avoid using them unless I had to."

Huy - "I am constantly booted out of the app too. I don't even use it that often. The local one near me is also charging 60c for ~55kW (advertised as 75kW) which is OK but I can find an Ampol or Evie (or even Everty...) for a cheaper rate or higher power."

Simon - "The BP at Glenrowan is awful. Always underspeed. Spent 20 mins on the phone to service WHO COULDNT FIND THE SITE let alone help me. You still pay full $ for a slow charge though."

Robert - "Agree. Skip if you can."

Some other comments from Plugshare for bp pulse St Peters/Sydenham:

Nicole - "Station still charging at 35Kwh has a note on front of charger explaining have complained to BP Pulse that for what they charging for this station as it's only producing enough power for 35 kWh it's highway robbery"

2nite - "For the price and speed at 35Kw., don't bother"

barterm - "Still limited to 34kW maximum for a single EV and about 14kW when 2 EVs. Stayed for 35mins just to get from 18% to 39% after a second EV connected to the charger."

Ben - "Not 75kw that is fake news lol"

What do you think of bp pulse Australian electric car chargers? Do you avoid them unless they're the only option available like I do with Ampol Ampcharge as well? Let me know in the comments.