When it comes to small but mighty impact, we often think about entities like Belmont Light, a not-for-profit municipal utility in Belmont, Massachusetts, that distributes electricity to the local community. The utility has played a crucial role in advancing EV adoption by installing workplace charging for its employees and multiple public charging stations around town.
Belmont Light offers complimentary workplace charging for employees, subsidizing e-commuting costs for staff who drive all-electric cars and plug-in hybrids. At their facility, the charging ports have a dual purpose –employee and fleet charging– as they convert their commercial fleet from conventional to electric. Their employees have expressed their satisfaction with their EV program, which was recently revamped while pursuing and earning their EV Adoption Leadership (EVAL) certification.
As Belmont Light pursued EVAL Gold certification, the process helped them to renew and refine their internal EV programs. According to Energy Specialist Kevin Bleau, EVAL technical resources helped the utility to:
- Re-engage with their staff on electric transportation needs with surveys, posters, and email campaigns
- Conduct an internal assessment that resulted in upgraded chargers and service panel
- Plan for their future EV charging program with buy-in from the executive team
The utility is ambitious and aspires to earn EVAL Platinum certification as they’re looking to complete additional electrification projects in the near future.
Outside of their property, Belmont Light installed a public fast charging station at the town’s primary central parking lot and Level 2 chargers at the local hospital. They will energize eight public Level 2 chargers at the high school next month and will supply the new library with chargers when the building is complete. Additionally, the utility offers EV benefits for their customers, including rebates for the purchase of home charging equipment and incentives for EV charging during off-peak hours.
As an employer offering workplace charging on site and installing public chargers in the community, Belmont Light has learned crucial lessons in the process of offering/installing EV infrastructure:
- Research incentives – there are great incentive programs out there
- Hire qualified installers so you don’t have to re-do the wiring
- Purchase EV chargers from established manufacturers
- Evaluate the customer service department of your EV charging vendors – you will need them
- Plan your EV charging rates carefully: peak/non-peak, kWh/time/flat fee
With 32 employees and five volunteer board members, Belmont Light is a small utility leading EV adoption efforts and minimizing transportation pollution in their corner of the Northeast. You, too, can pursue EVAL certification and access helpful resources that will help you implement creative and effective zero-emission transportation programs.
Start your EVAL certification process by Aug. 30 and get highlighted on Plug In America’s special workplace charging features this summer! Plus, EVAL certification is free right now, so there’s no out-of-pocket cost.*
For questions about EVAL certification or workplace charging, contact Rosa Mitsumasu Scotti at rmitsumasu@pluginamerica.org.
*Getting EVAL certified is free through October 2024.
