BGS outlines state EV charging rollout, favors Level 2 networked stations

Bridal Sewell, state energy program manager with the Department of Buildings and General Services, told the Transportation Committee the agency has been installing electric vehicle charging stations at state-owned facilities since before 2013 and is moving from nonnetwork fleet chargers to monitored, public-facing Level 2 charging stations.

Sewell said the program began to reduce fleet fuel costs and the state's reliance on fossil fuels and later expanded to serve state employees and the public. She said most current and planned installs are Level 2 stations, often in two-plug or single-plug configurations, and that the state is prioritizing sites where drivers park for several hours, such as state office complexes.

The presentation provided a map and a site list showing existing networked stations that BGS can monitor and nonnetworked stations originally installed only for fleet use. Sewell said networked (sometimes called “smart”) stations use a cell connection that allows BGS to collect usage data and implement cost recovery, while older nonnetworked chargers were simply plug-in fleet chargers with no transaction traceability. She said…