Skip to content

EV charging — Shoreline operator POC (Level 2)

Field Value
Status Archived — killed (2026-05-03). Decision: churn-to-return ratio too high after stress-test. Even at median assumptions the economics (~$50–$100/mo net per charger) don't justify the capital, 80–150 hrs Year 1 owner time, and illiquidity vs preserving equity positions. Capital stays in existing stocks.
Scope Level 2 AC charging (same class as Tesla Wall Connector / overnight stall charging — not DC fast / Supercharger network)
Geography Shoreline, WA (primary); Seattle metro context
Parent projects/operator-agent
Ops agent crusty — remote telemetry (uptime, revenue, alerts), automated billing workflows

Standalone file-of-record for the Operator Agent proof-of-concept after vending was set aside: EV L2 is the chosen first physical automation node — remote visibility, semi-passive after ~12 months of active setup (site scouting, landlord negotiation, permits, install coordination estimated at 80–150 hrs Year 1) vs weekly vending restocks. "Under 2 hrs/month" is the steady-state target, not the Year 1 reality.

Why this path

  • Vending / micro-market rejected for Node 1: requires weekly physical restocking (~1–3 hrs), poor fit for "full automation" and Crusty-driven ops cadence.
  • EV Level 2 selected as the better first node: largely unattended after install; remote telemetry (uptime, revenue, alerts) via projects/crusty-integrable APIs; app-based payments; under 2 hrs/month human touch at steady state vs vending's weekly haul.
  • Aligns with 90-day priority: a physical automation anchor with semi-passive income after Year 1 plus real operator reps (permits, landlord, utilities, network apps). Year 1 owner time (site scouting through first charger live) is estimated 80–150 hrs and does not appear in any payback figure.
  • Tech overlap: same charging class as existing Tesla Wall Connector mental model (overnight L2, not DC fast/Supercharger).

Target market

Tier Segment Notes
Primary Multifamily apartments / condos in Shoreline Renters ~60% of Seattle-area EV owners; many lack garages / home plugs. Overnight L2 for ~20–30 mi/day commuting is the core job. Competition still thin — only ~5% of multifamily properties offer chargers (scout-level figure; verify per deal).
Secondary (if multifamily saturates or as parallel tests) Workplaces, office parks, retail / grocery pads, gyms (e.g. Uplift) Same utilization story: dwell-time charging, not impulse retail.

Demand scouting: PlugShare (and similar) visibility plus foot-traffic patterns before signing.

Economics (savings-funded + stacked grants)

Rough planning band — re-quote everything before commit. The spreadsheet must be built before first landlord conversation — the figures below have a known internal inconsistency (see note) and are placeholders only.

Line Detail
Install cost per L2 charger $3.5k–$15k before incentives
Seattle City Light grants Up to 50% (or $25k/site cap) → net ~$3k–$7.5k/charger in favorable cases; grant timeline 6–18 months, not guaranteed — model without it first
Network platform fee $15–30/port/month or 10–20% of revenue (SWTCH, ChargePoint, AmpUp, etc.) — frequently omitted from early models; materially reduces net
Revenue/charger (illustrative — 10–15% daily utilization, ~$0.40/kWh retail, 7.2 kW EVSE) ~$2,500–$3,800/year gross
Net profit (after power ~$0.20/kWh + network fee + repairs reserve) ~$50–$100/mo per charger at median steady state — ⚠️ NOT $250–$300/mo (see note below)
Payback ~5–8 years at median; ~3 years only if grants are captured AND utilization sustains 20%+ — do not use 3-year figure in planning until spreadsheet validates it
ROI framing 15–25% annualized at median; aggressive models (grants + high utilization) could reach 30–40% — the 30–100% figure was derived from an inconsistent net number and should not be used
Scale vision 12–16 chargers across 3–4 sites → ~$1–2k/mo net at median (portfolio-level spreadsheet TBD — revise upward only when unit economics are confirmed)
Liquidity angle Exit / resale: used equipment often 60–80% of install cost depending on buyer market — verify before banking on it

⚠️ Economics note (2026-05-03): The earlier $250–$300/mo net figure does not reconcile with the stated gross revenue and cost inputs. A 7.2 kW charger at 12% utilization produces ~$3,000/year gross; after power cost (~$1,525), network fees (~$420–$900), and repairs reserve (~$500), median net is ~$50–$100/mo per charger, not $250–$300. The higher figure requires ~35–40% utilization — top-decile performance for mature sites, not a realistic Year 1 assumption. Build the actual spreadsheet before committing capital.

Rates & utilization: both electricity tariffs and session pricing drift — model sensitivity runs are mandatory before final go/no-go. Watch for demand charge exposure: simultaneous evening charging at multiple ports can trigger SCL demand charges that raise effective power cost above $0.20/kWh.

  1. Fund from new savings only — do NOT sell appreciated stocks. Selling appreciated equity triggers 15–20% LTCG tax drag before a dollar is invested, and the opportunity cost vs a diversified equity portfolio (realistic 10–13% annualized, not 7%) is only recovered if this venture hits the upper quartile of utilization. At median performance (~$50–$100/mo per charger), liquidating stocks to fund this is a net-negative financial decision. Use new savings; preserve equity positions.
  2. Landlord / PM deal shape: default flat access fee only if needed; avoid heavy rev-share unless unavoidable — ≤10% acceptable if it unlocks a strong site.
  3. Lead with one Shoreline multifamily site sized for 3–4 chargers from day one (shared feeders / panels → lower marginal cost per port). Single-charger economics are weak; shared infrastructure is the single biggest economic lever available.
  4. Permitting: mayor/network intro framed as shortening a typical multi-month permit/interconnect slog — treat as accelerator, not a guarantee.

Ops & maintenance (Crusty-friendly)

Cadence Work
Monthly Visual / physical spot-check — Crusty can prompt via API-driven alerts
Quarterly Remote firmware / vendor app updates
Repairs reserve ~$500/year thrown off for rare truck rolls
Cash & power Billing and settlement flows through charger-network apps (SWTCH, Tesla for Business, ChargePoint ecosystem, etc.) — aim for no manual invoicing. Note: network app is a dependency risk; switching platforms mid-deployment requires hardware reconfiguration and possible re-permitting.

Gotchas / risks

Risk Mitigation sketch
Permits + electrical upgrades Grants + streamlined utility path; relationships; pad timeline by 6–12 months minimum
Utilization misses PlugShare scouting + pick buildings with plausible renter EV density; verify actual EV penetration of target building, not just metro-wide stats
Utility rate shocks + demand charges Pass-through tariff math in leases/apps; diversify sites; model demand charge exposure explicitly for multi-port sites
No Tesla Supercharger path Tesla-owned network is closed — this model is open L2 / third-party OCPP-style stacking, not Supercharger resale
Landlord / property turnover Equipment is bolted to their building; lease must cover equipment removal rights and early-exit terms. Property sale or PM change can kill a site. Get legal review of access agreement before signing.
Competitive encroachment Large networks (ChargePoint, SWTCH, Blink) offer free equipment to landlords in exchange for revenue share — they may sign your target building before you do. Pipeline must be 5+ candidates, not 1.
Building electrical capacity Older multifamily stock may need a utility service upgrade ($15k–$50k), not just a subpanel. Confirm with an electrician before any site negotiation.
Network platform concentration All billing, session data, and driver identity lives in one vendor's app. Repricing or platform exit wipes margin. Prefer OCPP-compatible hardware to preserve optionality.
Grant timeline and certainty SCL EV rebate program is competitive and bureaucratic; approval can take 6–18 months or be unavailable. Model base case without grants; treat capture as upside.
Insurance / liability EV charging fires are rare but real. Confirm operator E&O/liability coverage before first install; add to cost model.
Driver support never fully automates Charger faults, billing disputes, and blocked stalls generate contacts Crusty can triage but not fully resolve. Budget a small ongoing support surface.

Long-term outlook (≈10 years)

  • Regional EV adoption still compounding (often cited ~15–40% annual growth bands in forecasts through ~2036 — verify sources before citing externally).
  • Robotaxis / high-mileage fleets could raise multifamily dwell-time charging needs (constant overnight top-ups), not shrink them — speculative but directionally bullish for stall hours.
  • Once installed and permitted, behaves like sticky infrastructure revenue vs high-touch retail.
  • Primary justification is the learning vehicle, not the income alone: operator reps + Crusty-on-real-P&L experience is hard to replicate from theory and directly advances the Operator Agent thesis regardless of whether unit economics beat index funds.