Electric Vehicles and Supporting
the Installation of Chargers
Recognizing that the transportation sector is one of the largest sources of carbon emissions in our service area and our nation, we are taking the lead in supporting the acceleration of electric vehicle (EV) adoption by our customers. Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. (CECONY), Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. (O&R), and Rockland Electric Company (RECO) are making significant infrastructure investments to facilitate installation of thousands of EV chargers across our service area. And we offer incentives to EV station operators and drivers to ease the impact of EVs on the grid and make transition to EVs more affordable.
We know that uncertainty about access to EV charging is a leading barrier to our customers purchasing EVs. In order to help alleviate these concerns, in 2020 CECONY and O&R launched our PowerReady EV infrastructure incentive program and in 2022 RECO launched our Charger Ready EV infrastructure incentive program. These programs support the development of widespread and visible charging stations at diverse locations across our service area such as parking lots, retail locations, apartment buildings, and workplaces. These programs for cars and other light duty motor vehicles are some of the largest utility programs targeting the EV charging industry in the country. They will provide up to $283 million of customer incentives with a goal to support the connection of about 23,000 EV charging plugs to the grid through 2025. In 2021, as part of the program, CECONY stoked a high level of market interest as evidenced by significant charger application queue. For 2022, the focus shifted from attracting interest to executing projects. CECONY, O&R and RECO have now incented the installation of over 2,600 chargers. In 2020, CECONY also launched a pilot program to incent electrification of larger fleet vehicles such as school buses, transit buses, and delivery trucks. Finally, CECONY and O&R received authorization to continue CECONY’s SmartCharge NY program through 2025, and to replace O&R’s ChargeSmart Program in favor of one program for both companies. We expect that the combined program will be one of the most successful-managed charging programs in the world. The program provides financial rewards to participating customers for all vehicle types in our service area when they charge outside of the peak demand periods on the grid. The year 2022 saw more off-peak EV charging.
Additionally, CECONY completed one demonstration project and is in the operating phase of a second demonstration project that will help improve access to and viability of clean transportation. . CECONY concluded a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) school bus initiative with the White Plains school district and presented findings to the public in 2022. The electric school buses in the White Plains school district transported school children during the school year. During the summer, when students are on their break and when grid needs are the greatest, the buses are able to provide grid support. In conjunction with New York City Department of Transportation, CECONY installed 100 publicly accessible curbside charging posts at 35 locations across all five boroughs that increase access to EV charging and test customer acceptance of chargers on the streets in their communityIn 2022, O&R launched a workplace charging program at four locations, enabling employees to charge personal EVs at work.
CECONY and O&R Fleet
In support of our Clean Energy Commitment, 100% of new light-duty vehicles that CECONY and O&R are purchasing are EVs. Through the retirement of existing fossil fuel vehicles, our goal is that 80% of our light-duty fleet will be electrified by 2030 and 100% by 2035. As of year-end 2022, 14.4% of CECONY’s light-duty fleet consists of EVs, and 17.7% of O&R’s light-duty fleet consists of EVs. We are also pursuing, through our Research and Development department, alternative technologies to reduce fossil fuels for medium and heavy-duty vehicles. In December 2022, the first all-electric bucket truck was introduced in our fleet which, will be piloted in both CECONY and O&R territories.
CECONY has designed a plan to expand the current charging infrastructure to support the electrified vehicle initiative. This plan includes the installation of higher output Level 2 and DC Fast Chargers for fleet vehicles and dedicated workplace chargers for employee’s personal vehicles. Additionally, O&R has been installing Level 2 charging stations for fleet and employee personal use. As we increase the amount of electrified vehicles in the fleet, the plan is to install higher output Level 2 and DC Fast Chargers. We will also be expanding the Workplace Charging program at more company facilities.
