Meijer – Portage

Introduction

Trip to visit all the southern lower Michigan Tesla Supercharger sites open to non-Tesla vehicles.  Site visit on July 21, 2025

Business/Location Name	Meijer
Address	5121 S Westnedge Ave, Portage, MI 49002
Network	Tesla
Station Details	8 Stalls (2 sets of 4 dispensers, total 500kW site power)
Cost	$0.47 per kWh, $0.36 per kWh for membership

The Meijer in Portage station was the 5th charging stop on my trip to check the southern lower Michigan Tesla sites.  This is an older and smaller site with only 8 dispensers.  Probably due to the smaller site size, the usage chart in the Tesla app shows that in the middle of the day most of the stations will be in use, and I found the same with up to 5 stalls in use during my stop.  (This station opened in July 2021).  

Accessibility

This Meijer site is in the parking lot of the supermarket business.  The site is 0.6 miles from I-94 at exit 76.  Just north of the highway, this charging site is much closer to the highway than other options nearby.  On the northern edge of the parking lot.  The stalls are arranged along the outer edge of the parking lot.  The dispenser on the end is set for Tesla pull in, that may better support other charge port locations.  There is no pull-though spot at this location.

Amenities

Dining options include: Cravings Deli, Los Amigos, Lee’s Famous Chicken, Biggby Coffee

Shopping options include: Meijer, Simple Treasures, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet

Car-related services (windshield cleaning, air):  Speedway gas station across the street

Concentration

This is a smaller 8 stall V3 location.  The dispensers are arranged along the outer edge of the parking lot.  The power cabinets and transformer are placed at the end of the row of dispensers.  The 8 stalls are from 2021, so likely a very early V3 install.  The shorter cables make for trickly parking for some vehicles.  The positioning of this site in the parking lot leaves lots of room to maneuver to connect.

Location

This site supports I-94 east/west interstate travel.  Major destinations include, Chicago is 150 miles to the west, Grand Rapids is 55 miles to the north, Detroit 145 miles to the east and Indianapolis is 230 miles to the south.

50 Mile Loop:

150 Mile Range Estimate:

Speed

The currently installed V3 power cabinets can produce up to 500V and 600A.  The power cabinets are connected by the high voltage DC bus, and thus can share power amongst all the dispensers.  Of course, this 500V limitation reduces the peak charging speeds for some 800V architecture vehicles, but the 600A output works well for lower voltage higher amperage vehicles.  Since I am on this trip with Elektra, the 200A, 80kW limit of the vehicle will not be stressing these units at all, but I did see max power on this stop.  The smallest transformer of the trip at only 500kVA.  Just a couple of Tesla vehicles charging at peak rate could result in site wide power limitations.

Summary

A quick jaunt down I-94 brings me to the next stop.  Heading north on Westnedge Ave, driving past the Meijer and then turning onto the side street I found the eight dispensers on the loading dock side of the building.  Not the best of the locations on this trip, but the site was busy a Model X, Lighting and Model 3.  The last 2 stalls farthest from the transformer are almost completely overgrown.  This highlights the need to have a clear responsibility for site maintenance to help keep the chargers in working order.

What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $2.30

Total kWh: 6.3957

Time: 6 min

Average Charge Speed: 64kW

Cost per kWh: $0.36

(From 62% - 70%)

Total Score (Max 44)	Score	Accessibility	Amenities	Usability
36	A	4	7	25

Alternatives:

Sams Club – 7021 S Westnedge Ave, Portage, MI, 49002 - $0.56/kWh – 350kW x 6

(Electrify America)

West Michigan International – 5380 International Dr, Kalamazoo, MI 49009 - $0.41/kWh – 200kW x 4

(EV Connect)

Questions or Comments:

dantheevman@gmail.com

Meijer – Battle Creek

Introduction

Trip to visit all the southern lower Michigan Tesla Supercharger sites open to non-Tesla vehicles. Site visit on July 21, 2025.

Business/Location Name	Meijer
Address	6405 B Dr N, Battle Creek, MI 49014
Network	Tesla
Station Details	12 Stalls (3 sets of 4 dispensers, total 1000kW site power)
Cost	$0.53 per kWh, $0.37 per kWh for membership

The Meijer in Battle Creek station was the 4th charging stop on my trip to check the southern lower Michigan Tesla sites.  I was happy to see a fully functional site after the previous site was completely offline.  Based on the usage chart in the Tesla app, this site sees steady use but is not overly busy.  (This station opened in July 2023).  

Accessibility

This Meijer site is in the parking lot of the superstore business.  The site is 1.2 miles from I-94 at exit 98.  South from the exit and then east on B Dr N.  The charge points are easy to locate once you have navigated to the Meijer parking lot.  Being on the perimeter road of the parking lot does bring extra traffic to the area.  The stalls are in the middle of one perpendicular parking row and one dedicated accessible stall.  No pull through designed spot.

Amenities

Dining options include: Los Aztecas, It’s Just Wings, Chick-fil-A, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Schlotzsky’s, Steak n Shake, Cereal City Grill

Shopping options include: Meijer, Kohl’s, Best Buy, Tractor Supply Co, TJ Maxx, Menards

Car-related services (windshield cleaning, air):  Meijer gas station in same parking lot

Concentration

This is a standard 12 stall V3 location.  The dispensers are arranged in the middle of a row of perpendicular parking.  Power cabinets and the transformer are placed at the west end of the site.  There are a couple of end dispensers that can support alternate parking arrangements for vehicles whose charge port locations don’t work the best with the short V3 dispenser cables.

Location

This site supports I-94 east/west interstate.  At about 120 miles to Detroit and 110 miles to Michigan City, IN, this is about the mid-point when traveling east to west across the state.  Grayling is 200 miles to the north and Fort Wayne, IN is 100 miles to the south.

50 Mile Loop:

150 Mile Range Estimate:

Speed

The currently installed V3 power cabinets can produce up to 500V and 600A.  The power cabinets are connected by the high voltage DC bus, and thus can share power amongst all the dispensers.  Of course, this 500V limitation reduces the peak charging speeds for some 800V architecture vehicles, but the 600A output works well for lower voltage higher amperage vehicles.  Since I am on this trip with Elektra, the 200A, 80kW limit of the vehicle will not be stressing these units at all.  1000kVA transformer will provide plenty of power for the site for all but the busiest of times.

Summary

Due to some traffic, I was routed to this location, not by the highway, but via some back roads from my previous stop in Marshall, MI.  A nice change of drive and I was able to drive by the future Ford BlueOval Battery Park site.  When I arrived, there was only a F-150 there charging.  The truck was parked taking advantage of the end stall to make connecting the short cables easy.  I think the driver was taking a nap and doing a long charge at this stop.  Otherwise, there was nothing else special of note about this charging stop.

What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $2.18

Total kWh: 5.9 kWh

Time: 6 min

Average Charge Speed: 59 kW

Cost per kWh: $0.37

(53% - 70%)

Total Score (Max 44)	Score	Accessibility	Amenities	Usability
38	A	4	9	25

Alternatives:

BP – 5195 Beckley Rd, Battle Creek, MI 49015 - $0.50/kWh – 240kW x 2

(Red E Charge)

Citgo – 15551 11 Mile Road, Battle Creek, MI 49014 - $0.45/kWh – 200kW x 2

(Wevo)

Questions or Comments:

dantheevman@gmail.com

Family Fare - Marshall

Introduction

Trip to visit all the southern lower Michigan Tesla Supercharger sites open to non-Tesla vehicles.  Site visit on July 21, 2025.

Business/Location Name	Family Fare Supermarket
Address	15900 W Michigan Ave, Marshall, MI 49068
Network	Tesla
Station Details	8 Stalls (2 sets of 4 dispensers, total 750 kW site power)
Cost	$0.47 per kWh, $0.36 per kWh for membership

The Family Fare Supermarket in Marshall station was the 3rd charging stop on my trip to check the southern lower Michigan Tesla sites.  This is a smaller site with only 8 dispensers.  These are pre-built V3 stations with each set of four dispensers and the power cabinet delivered and installed as one unit.  There is another Tesla Supercharger site in Marshall that is an older V2 site, but is more convenient to I-94, thus this site tends to not be busy at all.  My first stop in about a year where I planned to charge and couldn’t.  (This station opened in December 2023).  

Accessibility

This Family Fare Supermarket site is in the parking lot of the supermarket business.  The site is 0.7 miles from I-69 at exit 36.  Just east of the highway, in the eastern edge of the parking lot, along West Dr.  The stalls are arranged along the outer edge of the parking lot.  The dispensers are all in a row which doesn’t leave good parking options for vehicles that have charge port locations that don’t work well with the short V3 cables.  There is no pull-though spot at this location.

Amenities

Dining options include: Arby’s, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Applebee’s, Dairy Queen, Wendy’s

Shopping options include: Family Fare Supermarket, Dollar Tree, Tractor Supply Co, AutoZone

Car-related services (windshield cleaning, air):  Family Fare Quick Stop gas station

Concentration

This is a smaller 8 stall V3 location.  The dispensers are arranged along the outer edge of the parking lot.  The power cabinets are placed directly behind the dispensers.  The 8 stalls are from 2023 and look to be an early prefab style of installation.  The shorter cables make for trickly parking for some vehicles.  The positioning of this site in the parking lot leaves lots of room to maneuver to connect.

Location

This site supports I-69 north/south interstate travel.  Major destinations include, Chicago is 180 miles to the west, Lansing is 50 miles to the north, Detroit 115 miles to the east and Indianapolis is 210 miles to the south.

50 Mile Loop:

150 Mile Range Estimate:

Speed

The currently installed V3 power cabinets can produce up to 500V and 600A.  The power cabinets are connected by the high voltage DC bus, and thus can share power amongst all the dispensers.  Of course, this 500V limitation reduces the peak charging speeds for some 800V architecture vehicles, but the 600A output works well for lower voltage higher amperage vehicles.  Since I am on this trip with Elektra, the 200A, 80kW limit of the vehicle will not be stressing these units at all.  Not sure if it can be fully trusted, but the only way I could determine this transformer power was a very light 750kVA scratched into the top edge.

Summary

This may have been the most confusing stop of the trip.  When I arrived, there was a Model Y plugged in and charging.  However, when I opened the app to start charging, I saw that all the stalls were showing as out of order, and a closer look showed a temporary closure indication.  During the walk around I did see that the meter on the transformer was flashing error.  Since the Model Y ended charging just as I was about to leave, I was able to confirm that he was able to charge but that now the Tesla navigation was also showing this site as not available.  Not sure the problem, but a couple days later the site was showing operational again.

What I paid for this stop:

I couldn’t charge here.

Total Cost: -

Total kWh: -

Time: -

Average Charge Speed: -

Cost per kWh: -

Total Score (Max 44)	Score	Accessibility	Amenities	Usability
38	A	5	8	25

Alternatives:

Johnny’s Market – 104 Winston Dr, Marshall 49068 - $0.40/kWh – 125kW x 2

(ChargePoint)

Johnny’s Market – 15423 Old US 27 North, Marshall 49068 - $0.40/kWh – 125kW x 2

(ChargePoint)

Questions or Comments:

dantheevman@gmail.com