Free when you charge at work

[Brammofan]

(The title is a nod to They Might Be Giants' Dial-A-Song service - a long-distance number back when long distance calls cost money to make.)

Back in 2010 when I got my Enertia, I knew that I could easily make it from home to work on my Enertia without charging at work. But I am a cautious person and like the margin of safety a 100% charge gives me, in case I want to run errands on the way home, or take a detour and ride somewhere where I can practice slow maneuvers, panic stops, etc.  The problem with charging at work is that I worked (still do) for a government agency. I decided to try to get approval to use an outlet that happened to be within 6 feet of where I can park inside the building.

I contacted the various folks that needed to be contacted, including the "landlord" of the building, the GSA.  The regional administrator thought it was cool that I rode an electric motorcycle but needed to check with the central office (Washington, DC) to make sure it was okay. I told him that my bike would be sipping about 12 cents' worth of electricity when I'd be charging. (Amount based on data from my Kill-A-Watt and local electricity rates).  Thus began a back and forth of emails that led, eventually, to no definite answer.

I decided that I would follow the "better to ask for forgiveness than for permission" guideline, although I had actually asked for permission and just hadn't got a definite answer. I went ahead and plugged in. For a while, I even left a quarter on this shelf just above the outlet. No one, of course, ever touched the coin, and I eventually pocketed it.  This practice continued until last week.

It just so happens that I have a new boss and he didn't know that I owned the motorcycle that he found plugged in near his parking spot. But he's a rules and regs guy and he got up in arms over the fact that someone was defrauding the government out of (what he thought) probably hundreds of dollars' worth of electricity. He asked the regional director of my agency (Not GSA) to whom he should report this crime. Luckily, that person knows me and knows my Enertia and mentioned to the boss that it was mine. He said, reportedly, that he guessed he just make the report anonymously. I know...sounds like an asshole, but he's a new boss and I'm giving him some latitude.  All this happened while I was out of town on vacation. A confidential informant (co-worker) told me all about it and asked, "what are you going to do?"

F*ck it. I'm plugged in. After 27 years with the feds, if THIS is the thing that I get in trouble for, so be it.

[Richard230]

I like to ride my Zero to various local State parks and at every one I ask if I can plug in to an electrical outlet on the outside of the visitor center or the ranger station (at a location where it would not be a tripping hazard for pedestrians).  So far every worker-bee ranger that I have talked to, said it sounded like a good idea to them, but as there was no written policy from the State Parks Department, only the Supervising Ranger could approve the request.  Naturally, no one knows where the Supervising Ranger might be during the day.   

I spent 40 years working for the government and our motto was:  "If you never make a decision, you can never make a bad decision".     So I always make sure that when I visit a State Park I have enough charge to return home.  I know how government bureaucracy works.   

[00049 (AKA SopFu)]

I work for the Department of Energy as a Contracting Officer, overseeing the Argonne contract. As you may know, Argonne is the preeminent DOE laboratory for basic battery research, and we do a significant amount of work in support of applied research on automotive technology. Needless to say, we have a lot of personal EVs on site.

As a Contracting Officer, my job is to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent appropriately. That includes making sure that no electricity is used for personal travel, which includes commuting to and from work. There is actually a letter from either our General Counsel or senate that confirms that employees are not allowed to plug in at work (if you want the letter, shoot me a PM and I'll send it to you while I'm at work). There are exceptions, which include employees reimbursing the cost of electricity and any cost associated with administering the reimbursement for the electricity (which is far more expensive than the <$0.05/KWh we pay). I am sure the meetings we had over this issue probably cost enough in productivity to cover several years of plugging in at work, too.

So the department that runs a program encouraging employers to offer workplace charging does not allow their employees to charge at work. And an EV owner gets to enforce that.

Unfortunately your new boss is right. If it makes you feel any better, the issue is perception more than actual abuse.

Welcome to the Government 

I like to ride my Zero to various local State parks and at every one I ask if I can plug in to an electrical outlet on the outside of the visitor center or the ranger station (at a location where it would not be a tripping hazard for pedestrians).  So far every worker-bee ranger that I have talked to, said it sounded like a good idea to them, but as there was no written policy from the State Parks Department, only the Supervising Ranger could approve the request.  Naturally, no one knows where the Supervising Ranger might be during the day.   

The problem is when Government employees are viewed as taking advantage of their position. Citizens using services do not cause the same PR issues.