JNS Holding Corp (JNSH)

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Court order brings hope for Chicago car charging stations

By Julie Wernau

Tribune reporter

12:04 p.m. CDT, September 25, 2013

Electric vehicle owners in the Chicago area may finally get to start using a car-charging network that has been stalled for two years.

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered that the charging stations be turned over to Arlington Heights-based JNS Power, an electric contractor that had been locked in battle for control of the network with a Miami Beach company. JNS has installed about 40 percent of the stations.

Michael Farkas, chief executive of Car Charging Group, of Miami Beach, which had been vying for the network, said in an email that he intends to appeal.

The stations' previous owners – 350Green – hatched deals with both companies to take over the charging stations this spring and a judge has been trying to work out who owns them since.

Chicago terminated its grant agreement with 350Green last April over allegations that the company had submitted evidence that it had paid contractors it hadn't. The FBI executed a search warrant at the company's Los Angeles offices last July on suspicion of fraud, according to court records, which show the company owes nearly $4 million in unpaid bills. All told, 168 chargers were installed and 51 remained to be installed, according to the court ruling.

Clarity over who owns the charging stations would spell relief for the area's electric vehicle drivers, who have taken to online message boards and blogs to warn other drivers of fast charging stations that are non-functional or inaccessible. The posts include months of emails to various companies asking how to access the stations.

The charging stations, installed under a $1.9 million federal grant two years ago, have been abandoned while the two companies battle over which firm rightfully owns the devices: Some work, some don't, others are inaccessible to new drivers or have been turned off under the burden of contractor liens.

"This system is essentially crippled," said Paul Fine, a Chicagoan who wants to buy an electric vehicle but said his attempts to try the area's much ballyhooed quick-charge stations have failed because no one knows who owns the charging stations and he can’t purchase a card to access them.

"I'd really like to drive to Six Flags, which is not that far away," said Nissan Leaf driver Brain McKee. "There’s a quick charger on the tollway on each side. But I have no way to verify if either of them are up."

For its part, JNS said it plans to get started as soon as possible in moving the project forward.

"Our client is obviously satisfied with the court's decision and the expedited nature by which the court rendered its decision. JNS is looking forward to getting this federally funded city project back on track to provide an efficient network of car charging stations to the entire Chicago metropolitan area," said Kelly McCloskey Cherf of Hogan Marren Ltd. and Colleen Loftus of Loftus & Loftus Ltd, attorneys for JNS in the case.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-chicago-car-charging-stations-20130925,0,6576611.story