Site Review Scores

Monday, June 20, 2022

Citgo - Whitmore Lake

 Introduction

A review from my road trip covering the US-23 corridor in Michigan

 

Business/Location Name

Citgo – Whitmore Lake

Address

50 N. Territorial Rd. Whitmore Lake, MI

Network

ChargePoint

Station Details

2 Stations (62.5kW)

Cost

$0.40 kWh

 The Citgo – Whitmore Lake ChargePoint station was the 4th stop on my trip covering the US-23 corridor (North to South).  I visited this site the previous fall when it first opened, but I did not charge during that stop.  Following along with how these sites are mostly new, this site has been open since July 2021.



Accessibility

The Whitmore Lake Citgo station is 0.1 miles west of US-23 at exit 49.  The EVSEs are visible from the end of the exit ramp on the southbound side.  There is very little else at this exit and traffic should be very light making for a quick and easy on and off charging session.  This is pull-up-to parking, so trailer access likely won’t work.

 

Amenities

Dining options include: A Subway in the Sunoco gas station across the highway.

Shopping options include: PS Food Mart Convenience Store

Car-related services (windshield cleaning, air):  Citgo gas station at this location.

 

Concentration

This is the standard double station layout for ChargePoint.  This station is the pull/back into configuration, which makes charging with Elektra’s front port location easy, but those with fender locations may need to stretch the cables to make the connections.

 

Location

On the US-23 corridor between Ann Arbor and Brighton, this site is positioned as a road trip rest stop.  Unfortunately, there is not much to do in the area, so this will be another charging-only stop on this route.  Given that it is not at the southern or northern ends, this is not a jumping off point for other travels.  It does not connect with any other major east/west routes.  All of these factors combined make this a less than optimal site.

 

Speed

ChargePoint is offering a middle of the pack solution targeted for the early adoption phase.  At the time of my trip these units were not properly paired, and thus limited to 62.5kW or 150A.  The mismatch in performance from one site to another that looks exactly the same will only lead to more confusion as less informed customers enter the market.  (I should have been getting 77kW like at the previous stop in Brighton, but since these units are not linked I was limited to 56-59kW)


 


 









Summary

I was happy to see another ChargePoint site using the per kWh cost structure.  This site has to be the easiest off and on the highway access that I have reviewed to date.  With that said, the location of this site and the lack of anything else around makes this an average site.  I would use it if the route plan I was driving called for it, but I’ll never adjust a route plan to make a stop here.

 


 

 



What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $1.97

Total kWh: 4.93 kWh

Time: 5 minutes

Average Charge Speed: 59.2kW (calculated)

Cost per kWh: $0.40

Total Score (Max 44)

Score

Accessibility

Amenities

Usability

23

C

6

5

12

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