Committee approves grant-funded EV chargers at no cost to district

The Blackstone-Millville School Committee approved a proposal on March 20 to install electric-vehicle charging stations at the middle school and the district complex at no upfront cost to the district.

District staff reported they met with East Coast Renewable Energy, which proposed installing two Level-2 dual-port chargers at each approved site. The presentation said the equipment and installation for those locations—estimated at about $49,877 per pair—would be fully covered by available incentives and grants. Staff noted the vendor offers two ownership models: (1) district ownership with three years of warranty and licensing (district sets pricing and maintains equipment after the warranty) or (2) vendor ownership with profit sharing (vendor maintains equipment and the district receives a share of revenue); licensing and app-based pricing are included for an initial three-year period.

Committee members discussed operational questions—how rates would be set, whether revenue would go to a maintenance fund, and the long-term licensing cost after the three-year period. A committee member recommended placing any charging revenue into a special-revenue fund to cover future maintenance and licensing.

A motion to move forward with installation and sign the proposal passed unanimously. Administrators said the vendor will return to evaluate the high school site separately because trenching and other site work could change the cost and feasibility there.

The committee also discussed potential grant opportunities to electrify transit vans and the possibility of staff discount rates; staff said roughly six employees currently drive electric vehicles by an informal count and that charging options would include configurable rates for employee vs. public use.