Francis Energy

Our family, fortunately, rarely ever needs to use public chargers. This Christmas was the first time we’d taken a trip that required the utilization of the public charging network. As such, we used almost every variation out there. Each time, we either had apps to download and/or could use a credit card at the station. Nothing about the Francis Energy station we stopped at was obvious about it’s use. Credit cards wouldn’t work. The app wouldn’t work. After we called to get help because we felt stuck there without the ability to charge up to continue, the agent got the charger to start. It would only send 85kw to our vehicle. (Much less than the 200kw stated for the station) *there were no other cars charging in case anyone thinks that may have been why*. The rates were also the absolute highest we saw anywhere from Colorado to Tennessee. The unfortunate thing is that most will only read this too late.

The app does not allow my to enter my car nor change my password. The App makes we want to take I70 to avoid Francis Energy Chargers. I drive a 2026 model car that is not an option in the system. I can enter it as a 2026 but keep getting an error that the car belongs to someone else. Concerned about security with a password I can not change.

We used the app to charge a Vinfast VF8 on I-90 Indiana Toll Road. I tried the first charging station. (This was a level 3 fast charger) It took me a while to figure out the app wanted the charging station number and where to find it. When I did figure it out and connected the cable, it looked like it might work, and then didn’t. Each time it failed, I had a hard time getting the car to release the cable. I ended up on the phone with Francis Energy for about 30 minutes trying to get the car to charge. Eventually I moved the car to another Francis Energy charger and it magically started working. It took about 30 minutes to get the car sufficiently charged. There was a place to eat nearby. The customer service rep did not know why it was not working or why it did eventually work. It looks like you can just use a credit card at the charger. I would probably just try that next time. It does make the Tesla chargers look attractive. There were 8 just sitting there. The cost of the charge seemed similar to the cost of getting gas. Much cheaper, of course, to just charge at home. Faster on the road to just get gas.