Plaid Pantry recently installed its first PowerNode charger from Electric Era at one of its locations, and the EV charger company is now offering a referral program that could earn retailers up to $1,500.
EV drivers and site hosts can get paid for referring eligible site hosts for PowerNode EV fast charging stations. Eligible site hosts receive additional monthly payments for use of their parking spots.
“I’m hopeful that there’s some adoption, something we can do at a lot more locations,” said Jonathan Polonksy, CEO of Plaid Pantry, in a video from Electric Era.
- Plaid Pantry is No. 71 on CSP’s 2023 Top 202 ranking of convenience-store chains by store count.
PowerNode provides an end-to-end commercial service that delivers EV refill on an accelerated timeline without costly grid updates and high utility bills, according to the company.
The charging stations are battery-backed and leverage a proprietary, vertically integrated software system for intelligent energy management and integrated reliability features. PowerNode can even serve as a backup power supply to certain retail sites in the event of a power outage.
“I definitely wanted something that had a battery backup so that we could put it in locations where the grid wasn’t maybe as sustainable,” said Polonksy.
Electric Era is currently installing its PowerNode fast charging station at seven sites, including five sites near the I-5 corridor through Washington, Oregon and California.
“We are seeing EV demand and sales surge, and we’re working to reduce one of the primary barriers to EV adoption, access to reliable EV charging station locations for drivers,” said Quincy Lee, founder and CEO of Electric Era, Seattle. “Our referral program is powering a grassroots movement to build our network of tens of thousands of EV fast charging stations across America. With our new referral program, consumers and convenience retailers are finally behind the wheel of helping increase the number of reliable EV fast-charging stations where they’re needed most along West Coast highways.”
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