Gentari has confirmed that the 50kW DC fast charger that it jointly operates with EV Connection (EVC) at the Petronas station in Gambang Westbound R&R is currently out of service. This is due to the upgrade works that are currently being carried out at the station which will last until 9 October 2023.
The charger’s downtime has since been reflected in Setel as well as the JomCharge app. Given that Gentari and EVC have a roaming deal with Yinson GreenTech, the downtime notice has also appeared on the ChargEV app.
Portable DC charger is coming…in two weeks
As a temporary solution, Gentari has decided to deploy a portable DC charger once again as a temporary solution which can deliver up to 30kW of DC charging. However, the charger will only be available from 16 August onwards and will not be positioned at the Petronas Gambang Westbound R&R itself.
Instead, it will be deployed at the Petronas station on the KM 26 of Jalan Gambang. Located around 41km away from the Gambang Westbound R&R according to Google Maps, you have to make your way out of the LPT via the Sri Jaya exit in order to go to the station:
In the meantime, EV owners that going to make the trip between Kuantan and Kuala Lumpur via LPT will have no chargers to rely on at all. This is because not only the sole DC charger within the route is now offline but two ChargEV AC chargers located in Karak and Genting Sempah are out of commission as well.
Alternative EV chargers in Kuantan
On the other hand, the Jalan Gambang station itself is less than 30km away from downtown Kuantan. Hence, we took the liberty and scour through PlugShare to compile a list of EV chargers that can serve as alternatives to Gentari’s portable DC charger:
TJM Cars Kuantan [PlugShare profile]:
60kW DC CCS2 / 50kW DC CHAdeMO / 22kW AC Type 2
Setel / JomCharge – RM1.60 per min.
BMW Millennium Welt Kuantan [PlugShare profile]:
30kW DC CCS2
ChargEV – RM0.60 per minute.
Starbucks Indera Mahkota [PlugShare profile]:
60kW DC CCS2 with 2 connectors
ChargEV – Currently available for free
Mega View Hotel [PlugShare profile – 1 2]
40kW DC CCS2 with 2 connectors (ChargeSini) / 22kW AC Type 2 (EVGuru)
EVGuru – RM3.70 to RM22 per hour, depending on the kW.
BLH Ecoenergy [Plugshare profile]
2 x 22kW AC Type2
ChargeSini
Berjaya Megamall Kuantan [PlugShare profile]
22kW AC Type 2 / 11kW AC Type 2
ChargeSini
Empire Restaurant [PlugShare profile]
22kW AC Type 2 AC / 11kW AC Type 2
ChargeSini
Majlis Bandaraya Kuantan [PlugShare profile]
22kW AC Type 2 / 11kW AC Type 2
ChargeSini
For ChargeSini chargers, there is an RM5.00 confirmation fee that turns into a rebate if the total charging fee is more than RM5. The charging fee is between RM0.07 to RM0.80 per minute depending on the kW and there is also an idle fee of RM 1.00 for every 5 minutes although users are given a 10 minutes grace period.
There are also 7kW and 11kW non-networked AC chargers at Shazan Hotel that apparently cost between RM4 to RM10 per hour. For more details, do reach out to the hotel’s front desk staff or call the number listed in its PlugShare profile.
A stark reminder of Malaysia’s jarring EV charging infrastructure
The DC charger at Petronas Gambang Westbound R&R was the ONLY operational EV charger in LPT 1 route towards KL. There were supposed to be two ChargEV AC chargers located in Karak and Genting Sempah but they are currently out of commission as YGT is planning to replace them in a not-so-distant future.
Hence, EV owners that going to make the trip between Kuantan and Kuala Lumpur via the highway now no longer have any chargers to rely on. This is a prime example of how the EV charging infrastructure in Malaysia for interstate travel is still far behind despite the rising popularity of EVs.
While the government aims to have 10,000 public EV chargers by 2025, there were only 1,063 chargers in the country as of June this year. Furthermore, the effort to roll out new public chargers seemed to have slowed down significantly as there were only 85 new chargers being rolled out between March and June this year.
Aside from the East Coast area of the Peninsular, other areas that are in dire need of EV chargers would be the Northern area after Penang. Things are even more critical over in Sabah and Sarawak as there are fewer than 40 public chargers over there at the moment.
[ IMAGE SOURCE 2 ]
Related reading
- Must have EV Charging apps in Malaysia | SoyaCincau’s EV Buyer’s Guide
- Petronas Gambang Westbound R&R to be closed for two months: No EV charger on LPT route towards KL?
- Deal: Gentari offers 50% off for AC and DC charging with discounted RM399/year membership
- Berjaya Times Square should consider relocating its DC fast chargers
