Electric car charging coming to COCC in Redmond, Madras

Electric car users in more Oregon cities, including the Central Oregon Community College campuses in Redmond and Madras, are getting help with charging up from a Pacific Power grant program.

Electric vehicle charging station projects from Seaside to Grants Pass – 10 in all – will receive up to 100% of eligible costs. The program, which launched in late 2018, is designed to assist non-profits, local governments and businesses with providing workers, customers and the general public with more options to charge electric vehicles.

“We are continuously evaluating and investing in ways to support the communities we serve,” said Cory Scott, director of customer solutions. “As more people take to the road in electric vehicles, they will need more ways to charge their car. This program is just one of the ways Pacific Power is helping to build out the necessary infrastructure to ensure electric vehicle drivers have plenty of options to power their daily commutes and summer road trips.”

Pacific Power is providing grant funding to help non-residential customers develop community-driven electric transportation infrastructure projects. The electric vehicle charging station grant program will award $1.45 million in total to projects that advance transportation electrification in areas such as workplace charging and publicly accessible stations.

Grant Recipients:

Southern Oregon Labor Temple Association – Central Point, Ore. (public charging / 2 ports) East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District – Portland, Ore. (workplace charging / 2 ports) Craft Brew Alliance – Portland, Ore. (public charging / 2 ports) Central Oregon Community College – Redmond & Madras, Ore. (public charging / 8 ports) Wyndham Worldmark, Resort at Seaside – Seaside, Ore. – (public charging / 4 ports) Independence Landing I, LLC (Tokola) – Independence, Ore. (public charging / 4 ports) Wooldridge Creek Winery, LLC – Grants Pass, Ore. (public charging / 2 ports) Brio Portland, Inc. – Portland, Ore. (multi-unit housing / 2 ports) Neil Kelly Co., Inc. – Portland, Ore. (workplace charging / 5 ports) Tolovana Inn – Tolovana Park, Ore. (public charging / 4 ports)

The next round of grant applications opened on April 15, 2019. Funding awards will cover up to 100 percent of the project cost. All non-residential Pacific Power customers in California, Oregon, and Washington are eligible to apply with preference given to community-focused organizations, such as 501(c)(3) and city, county and regional governments.

Applications will be accepted until May 15 at 5 p.m. Recipients will be announced in June.

For detailed eligibility requirements, project qualifications and application forms, please visit pacificpower.net/ev-grants.

Materials may be submitted to plugin@pacificpower.net.

To learn more about the benefits of electric vehicles, visit pacificpower.net/ev.

In addition to the electric vehicle charging station grant program, Pacific Power also announced a new free electric charging station technical assistance program. The program is for non-residential customers interested in installing charging equipment and need help evaluating options and costs.

The technical assistance program is available at no cost to customers and includes a site visit, analysis of electric vehicle technology options, costs, rates, and best practices for siting, configuring, installing and managing equipment.

“The electric vehicle technical assistance program is a first step for businesses, local governments and non-profits interested in installing charging equipment but do not know where to start,” said Scott. “Once the analysis is complete and they receive the report, the business could apply for a charging station grant to help pay for the costs.”

For more information and to apply for the technical assistance program, visit pacificpower.net/env/ev/charging-station-technical-assistance.html