Jennifer Sensiba

Scrolling around on Plugshare, I came across a charging station I’ve been waiting to see for years. I thought it would take at least another couple of years to ever see one, too, so when I saw a little pin/marker appear over Safford, Arizona, I first thought it must be a mistake, as sometimes Plugshare users confuse a Level 2 charging station for DCFC or simply put the marker in the wrong town entirely.

But, after looking into it more, my hopes raised to meet reality. Not only was the photo of the station in the right place (per Google Street View), but Street View’s imagery from five months ago show the construction that everyone missed. On top of that, the EV Connect app showed an active station that matched the photos. So, it’s pretty clear that the station is not only real, but ready to charge cars!

The only thing the station listing needed was some cleanup and added information, which I went ahead and did.

But, some readers are probably wondering why I’d write an article about yet another charging station in some small town dozens of miles from the nearest interstate. New stations are opening up every day, so it’s really not even news anymore unless there’s something really special about it, right? In this article, I want to explain why these rural and smaller town charging stations really do matter, and usually a lot more than people think.

Why This Station Matters (& Not Just To The Locals)

Before I get to what this station gives EV drivers not from the area, I don’t want to dismiss the very real importance to people living there. While most people charge at home and only need stations when going on road trips, that’s not always the case. There are apartment dwellers, people who are visiting the area long-term for school, and people who can only use Level 1 charging at home who might need a top-up every few weeks.

There’s more. There are also significant stretches of road in all directions where one might drive and go back without going to the next charging station and need to top up for the next errand. Finally, new EV buyers in the area would have a much easier time charging there while waiting for a Level 2 home install.

For many people passing through, the station is just as impactful. Safford sits along U.S. Highway 70, a route that serves as a faster and more fuel efficient route from New Mexico and El Paso (and points further east) to places on the east end of the Phoenix metro area. This route cuts off as much as 50 miles of driving by avoiding a southward jog to Tucson. With this station and the one in Globe, most EVs can now leave Interstate 10 in Lordsburg and take this more direct route.

This route is also a lot more scenic and interesting. With drives through mountains, valleys, and canyons, plus next to a casino, it’s generally more fun than the Tucson route. This alone makes the route worth opening to EVs.

What’s even more fun are the places this route opens up to easier access for EVs. There are places like the Gila Wilderness, the twisty US-191 to Alpine, and the White Mountains made easier for access with this charger. For people coming from the east, it’s a LOT easier to get to Roosevelt Lake, Tonto National Monument, the Mogollon Rim, and National Parks like Petrified Forest and the Grand Canyon, without having to go through Tucson and Phoenix to catch charging.

For example, if I drive to the Mogollon Rim near Payson, Arizona, I save around 4 hours of driving and extra charging just by being able to go through Safford instead of having to go around. Many EVs (including mine) were already capable of not stopping there, but when I’m pulling a trailer, it’s a necessity just as if I’m heading off from there into charging deserts.

Another great thing this station will be doing for me soon is powering a campsite. The tallest of the Madrean Sky Islands, the Pinaleño Mountains, sits just a few miles from the charger in Safford. Not only does the range provide a respite from the heat of the surrounding deserts, but it’s home to the most southern 10,000-foot peak in the United States, and among one of the most prominent mountains around, Mt. Graham. The station’s close enough to power a vehicle’s trip up the Swift Trail and usually leave some power for creature comforts!

While the route might not be of national strategic importance (as indicated by its absence from the National Highway System and NEVI maps), it’s clearly an important link in Arizona’s tourism economy. It’s a lot easier for EV drivers to be able to go into an area with a station of some kind every 50 miles, and easier to go from there onto the further backroads. I already have several trips in mind to the state that I was putting off until the station appeared, and I can’t be the only one.

So, yes, this station is a much bigger deal than most people think!

We’ll See Stories Like This Over & Over As More Small Town Stations Get Built

The truth is that very few smaller towns in the United States will appear on the map and not matter that much. Everywhere is on a route to somewhere, right?

Just in the region, there are a number of important routes that aren’t fully open to all EVs yet. U.S. highways 180 and 191, 60, and old U.S. 80 further south all need more charging to be able to readily access a number of fun places. Even Interstate 10 has a big gap in CCS charging that won’t be solved by Tesla opening up the network, as Willcox only has V2 Superchargers that won’t support the NACS protocols.

So, I’m going to keep writing about these, even if they appear insignificant from afar. Every road that opens up to all EVs means access to many more places than we think, and that’s worth celebrating.