Public EV Charging Reliability Now Scores in the Low-to-Mid 90s. Here's Why a Home Charger Still Makes Sense in Tolland County

A new industry report puts the national public fast-charging reliability in the low-to-mid 90s, and GM just folded ChargePoint into a single app that reaches most of the country's chargers. The public network is genuinely better than it was a few years ago. Here is what the improvement does, and does not, change for a Connecticut homeowner deciding whether to install a charger at home.

The reliability numbers, and why they moved

A widely cited industry benchmark, the Paren Reliability Index, scores nationwide public fast-charging performance using the large majority of real charging sessions logged across the country. Most regions now score in the low-to-mid 90s in the second quarter of 2026, a steady climb from the prior quarter, and a dramatic improvement from where the same measurement sat only a few years earlier, when successful charging sessions were closer to 85.

The reasons are straightforward. Tesla opened its Supercharger network to other brands, adding a large, historically well-maintained pool of stalls to what non-Tesla drivers can use. Operators also added 4,382 new fast-charging ports across 806 new stations in the quarter alone, and monthly charging sessions reached about 16 million in June, both signs the network is being used, monitored, and maintained more heavily than it was even a year ago.

One app for most of the network

Coverage is also consolidating. General Motors added ChargePoint to its Energy Pass tool this week, joining Tesla Superchargers, Electrify America, and the Ionna network the automaker helped build. ChargePoint alone operates roughly 80,000 public charging ports, and with EVgo expected to join later this year, Energy Pass is projected to reach about 70 percent of the country's DC fast chargers and around 60 percent of public Level 2 plugs, all authorized and paid for from one app instead of several separate ones.

For anyone who has fumbled with a different charging network's app at every stop on a road trip, that consolidation is a genuine convenience upgrade, not just a marketing line.

What the averages still do not show you

A national reliability score in the low 90s is an average, and averages hide a lot. It says nothing about whether the two fast chargers closest to your house in Tolland County happen to be the reliable kind, and it says nothing about how long you wait behind another driver during a Friday evening rush before a stall opens up.

Price is the other piece the reliability story skips. Connecticut's public fast-charging rate has been tracked among the priciest in the country per kilowatt-hour, a cost gap that a home Level 2 charger simply does not have to deal with since it runs on your existing residential electric rate instead.

What this means for your driveway

None of this argues against the public network getting better, it clearly is. But better public charging mostly changes the road-trip experience, the once-a-quarter drive to visit family three states away. It does very little for the daily habit of leaving home each morning with a full battery, which is the actual convenience a home charger is bought for in the first place.

If you are weighing the decision, the practical variables are your panel's available capacity, whether a licensed electrician needs to add a dedicated circuit, and which charger speed actually matches your commute, not the national reliability average. That is exactly the kind of load calculation worth a real electrician's eyes before you buy hardware.

6 things the reliability headline does not tell you

Reliability in the low-to-mid 90s is real progress, but it is not the whole picture for a Connecticut driver.

1. Price still varies a lot: Connecticut fast-charging rates rank among the most expensive in the country per kilowatt-hour.
2. Rural coverage lags cities: The reliability average blends dense, well-monitored corridors with thinner rural coverage.
3. Peak-hour waits aren't measured: A stall that works is not the same as a stall that is open when you actually pull up.
4. Weather still matters: Outdoor charging equipment sees more downtime during and right after severe storms.
5. Payment glitches still happen: Even the improved networks report occasional card-reader and app-authorization failures.
6. None of it charges your car overnight: A home Level 2 charger is still the only option that has your car ready every single morning.

Frequently asked questions

Does the improved public charging reliability mean I do not need a home charger?

Not really. The reliability gains mostly help road trips and one-off stops. For the daily habit of leaving home with a full charge, a home Level 2 charger is still the more convenient and usually cheaper option.

Why is Connecticut's public fast-charging so much more expensive than the national average?

Industry pricing reports have placed Connecticut among the priciest states for DC fast charging by the kilowatt-hour, which analysts attribute in part to regional electricity supply costs in the Northeast.

Do I need a licensed electrician to install a home Level 2 charger?

Yes. The 2026 National Electrical Code requires a qualified person, in practice a licensed electrician, for any permanently installed EV charging equipment, along with dedicated GFCI protection on the circuit.

What is the Paren Reliability Index actually measuring?

It is an industry benchmark built from real-world public fast-charging session data, tracking how often a charging attempt succeeds versus fails or times out, plus how much station downtime gets logged across the network.