Sustainable transportation coordinator Cashel Stewart at a charging station in South Portland. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer) Shawn Patrick Ouellette photo/Press Herald

The South Portland City Council passed an electric vehicle charging infrastructure ordinance on Nov. 15 that will gradually introduce EV systems equitably and economically. The ordinance went into effect on Dec. 6.

The ordinance has been in development for 18 months and the issue went through many meetings and forums with different people, including a study developed by Revision Energy. The process also included information gathered from similar ordinances across the country, including in Boston and Portland. As transportation is the leading pollution sector in Maine, making up for 32 percent of South Portland’s greenhouse gas output, reducing internal combustion engine vehicles is a major way to combat emissions.

“We are a climate action leader in Maine, and we are also realistic about where South Portlanders are right now,” said Cashel Stewart, the city’s sustainable transportation coordinator. “Supply chain disruptions and an inflation-ravaged car market have kept EV adoption relatively low, but EVs are becoming more mainstream and affordable with every year and are critical to meeting the city’s climate action goals. This ordinance will make certain that new developments are built with EVs in mind, but not overburden developers with excessive EV charging infrastructure requirements.”

The ordinance is targeted for bigger projects such as new and fully reconstructed parking lots or structures with five or more spaces, applicable only in certain land use types. There are three categories:

EV-capable compliance would involve conduit and electric panel capacity to support future charging.

EV-ready, in addition, has a dedicated branch circuit from the panel to the parking space.

EV-installed also has a working EV charger at the space.

Installing infrastructure during construction is significantly more economical than retroactively adding it later. “It’s much, much cheaper to do it at the time of construction,” said Stewart.

The ordinance will ensure that EV charging stations will be available and accessible throughout the city. New and fully reconstructed parking lots will add infrastructure that will support future EV charging stations in lots of five or more spaces. Lots with 25 or more spaces will have ready-to-use EV chargers.

“Ensuring that new parking lots are future-proofed means ensuring they’re adding EV-capable infrastructure such as conduit and electric panel capacity,” said Stewart.

“While those who own their homes and those with driveways will be able to charge at home, we need to ensure everyone has a means to charge conveniently,” said Stewart. “This ordinance is critical to establishing access and equity in the transition to EVs — for South Portland’s renter community, for those without driveways, and for visitors to our community.”

The ordinance also included several exemptions and reductions of the requirement that will address situations that challenge EV charging installations.

South Portland is also finding other ways to introduce EV charging. The city plans to add 36 publicly available chargers at city-owned locations in the next 20 months. Additionally, the city introduced a Level 2 Charging Grant for South Portland businesses.

The grant provides 50 percent off the cost of chargers and associated site work. For more information, visit  https://www.southportland.org/departments/economic-and-community-development/business-grant-programs/level-2-electric-vehicle-charging-grant.

For more information on the grant, visit https://www.southportland.org/departments/sustainability-office/sustainable-transportation/ev-charging-ordinance.