CHARLOTTE – Duke Energy has filed an additional $56 million proposal of Phase II programs to continue the electrification of transportation in North Carolina, which would lead to more than 1,000 new charging ports or stations for electric vehicle charging in the state.
This proposal comes six months after the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) approved a $25 million Phase I electric transportation project and the NCUC instructed Duke Energy to organize a collaborative stakeholder process, then file paperwork with the Commission on any stakeholder-developed pilot programs.
“Throughout the electric transportation industry, increasing the number of public charging stations and overcoming consumer anxiety about battery range remain obstacles in increasing and sustaining EV adoption,” reads the proposal filed in May 2021. “Given the possible benefits of increased EV adoption to all utility customers, utilities have been and are a natural choice to provide infrastructure
CHARLOTTE – Duke Energy has filed an additional $56 million proposal of Phase II programs to continue the electrification of transportation in North Carolina, which would lead to more than 1,000 new charging ports or stations for electric vehicle charging in the state.
This proposal comes six months after the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) approved a $25 million Phase I electric transportation project and the NCUC instructed Duke Energy to organize a collaborative stakeholder process, then file paperwork with the Commission on any stakeholder-developed pilot programs.
“Throughout the electric transportation industry, increasing the number of public charging stations and overcoming consumer anxiety about battery range remain obstacles in increasing and sustaining EV adoption,” reads the proposal filed in May 2021. “Given the possible benefits of increased EV adoption to all utility customers, utilities have been and are a natural choice to provide infrastructure
An electric vehicle at a charging station in Charlotte.
Duke Energy is asking regulators to approve a $56 million plan to expand electric vehicle charging in North Carolina.
The Charlotte-based company says it wants to help speed up the adoption of electric vehicles. That s also a goal of North Carolina s
Clean Energy Plan, which requires utilities to develop charging infrastructure and rates.
It s the second time Duke has offered such a plan. Last November, regulators approved a scaled-back $25 million pilot program for 280 Duke-owned charging stations across the state. Regulators trimmed that plan from the $76 million Duke originally proposed in April 2019. It also includes money for 30 electric buses to be spread throughout the state s school districts.
Today’s batch of burning questions, my smart-aleck answers and the real deal:
Question: With the Duke Energy plant at Lake Julian, they switched over to natural gas, which is a good thing, but now they are dependent on a pipeline to bring that gas in. In the old days they probably had 30 days’ worth of coal stockpiled on site there. What kind of surplus of natural gas, if any, do they keep on site at Lake Julian now? Do they have tanks on site? How long would they last? If not, what happens if that pipeline goes down like the Colonial Pipeline just did?