Colorado Springs car dealership connects EVs to keep the power on following fire
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Despite having no power following a Wednesday night fire, a long-standing Colorado Springs car dealership is getting a jump-start with business.
Even though a fire ripped through the parts department earlier this week, Phil Long Kia is harnessing the power of their own electric vehicles to stay open.
“We have a Kia EV Niro and a Kia EV6. So both of these vehicles are literally powering my store,” said Peter Buckles GM of Phil Long Kia.
The cars only take 18 minutes to charge and are done so at one of their stations down the street. With just two cars, they can power the dealership for days, avoiding the noise, smoke, gas, and cost of several large generators.
“We have not charged this since yesterday and we’re still at 90 percent,” said Buckles.
The entire parts department is currently outside, underneath a large tent. They, along with the IT department, are powered through two Ford trucks loaned by Phil Long Ford across the street.
Tina Noriega, who runs the parts team, is very impressed with the effort to keep everyone working.
“We wouldn’t be up and running if it wasn’t for my IT department getting this up and running,” she said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. However, Buckles says a transformer blew and that fire officials are trying to discover how that failure began; Buckles says he was told lightning may be a factor.
Phil Long Kia has been told they should have power back by Monday or Tuesday. The dealership doesn’t have an estimate yet on the cost of damages or when they can expect full repairs to be made.