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