The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities is starting a new energy efficiency program offering businesses incentives for the installation of electric vehicle charging stations at commercial or industrial locations in the BPU electric territory.

The BPU EV Charging Equipment Program for Businesses is open to BPU Electric Service Class 2, 3 and 6 customers, including customers in the hospitality field.

The offering is part of the BPU’s efforts to participate in the New York state Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) initiative to stimulate investment in clean technologies.

Rebates are available to encourage the installation of EV chargers under this plan. Level 2 chargers may be networked or non-networked and must have CHAdeMO or J1772 connectors or both. Level 3 chargers must be networked and have CHAdeMO or SAE combo-connectors or both.

Customers are limited to $15,000 per year under the program. A customer may apply for rebates of up to four chargers per year of participation.

Rebates are for equipment only and are limited to the equipment costs. Customers are responsible for all costs associated to install the charger, including but not limited to labor, material and any applicable permits.

Chargers installed under this program must be available to the business’ customers, employees or the general public and must be in service for a minimum of five years. Chargers utilizing proprietary connectors are not eligible for rebates.

Businesses interested in participation should first consult with a certified electrical contractor to verify that their electric services have the capacity to support the electric vehicle chargers they want to install. Once capacity is confirmed, the customer may contact BPU Energy Efficiency Coordinator Dan Reynolds to schedule a site visit and to complete the rebate pre-approval application.

Reynolds notes that there currently are more than forty models of electric vehicles on the market in the United States. This number is expected to grow, with eight new EV models scheduled for release this year. Some manufacturers plan to integrate an electric drive component in all of their cars by 2020.

While there are no electric pick-up trucks on the road this year, four manufacturers are expected to have models available in 2020.

At the start of 2019, there were 1.1 million electric vehicles on the road in the United States, explains Reynolds. According to the Edison Electric Institute, this number is expected to climb to 18 million by 2030.

“The growth of the EV market represents an opportunity for those industrial and commercial entities, including the hospitality industry, to differentiate themselves from their competition by offering electric vehicle charging,” states Reynolds. “The availability of charging can be the deciding factor, for instance, where an EV owner plans to do business, eat a meal and stay for the night.”

According to the New York State Department of Conservation, thirty-three percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from the transportation sector.

“The best way to reduce these emissions is through the adoption of EVs,” Reynolds further comments.

More information is available by contacting Reynolds at 661-1646.