MP Municipal Utilites provides electric car charging stations

MT. PLEASANT - Mt. Pleasant Municipal Utilities is looking to the technology of the future and installing electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in locations around the city.

Jack Hedgecock, general manager of the municipal utilities company, said the installation of the stations have been in the works for the past year. Though several stations are already open and available to be used by the public, Hedgecock mentioned the city and his company are putting some final touches into the parking lots where the chargers are located, as well as putting up the appropriate signage so the charging stations will be easily accessible.

In addition to the charging stations the municipal utilities company are installing, Hedgecock also said an exciting project with electric vehicle company Tesla is currently in the works. The municipal utilities has been working with the company for the last six months.

Currently, Tesla is planning to install their own charging station in the city. Though an exact location has yet to be determined, Hedgecock said site plans have been approved and are expected to begin construction by this summer.

Even in light of Tesla's decision to install charge stations, Hedgecock said the municipal utilities will be moving forward with their installations as well.

'The Tesla station will not charge anything but Tesla cars. And if you buy a tesla vehicle, they sell you an adapter that can plug into a charge point, but you cannot take a Nissan Leaf and charge it at a Tesla station,” he explained.

For those who are in immediate need of a charging station, Hedgecock noted the Level 2 chargers already available in town are stationed at two locations: the public parking lot on the corner of Madison and Adams as well as under the water tower by the square on Washington and N. Jackson.

To provide the service, the municipal utilities company partnered with ChargePoint. Hedgecock said several features the company provides, including a navigation application that directs people to nearby EV stations, that made it an attractive partnership.

'I think Mt. Pleasant has had a long history of trying to be on the forefront of technology and trying to offer those things to citizens. In this day and age, you find things that try to attract people to land into the community, both residential and commercial,” Hedgecock said, explaining the charging stations were a collaborative effort between the municipal utilities, the City of Mt. Pleasant and the local Chamber.

Mt. Pleasant city administrator Brent Schleisman, added the city 'saw the trend coming,” with the use of more electric vehicles.

'As a growing and progressive city, we want to try to help that market expand, which is why we decided to put in four charging stations,” Schleisman said. To prepare for the charging stalls, the city council also passed several ordinances in March to account for laws surrounding EV stations.

As the utilities company begins to look at their following fiscal year's budget, which begins July 1, Hedgecock noted the company hopes to continue to forge ahead with plans to install more stations around town and potentially higher levels as well to provide quicker charges for those with electric vehicles.

The general manager added the municipal utilities also spent time determining a pricing structure 'competitive with other forms of fuel and transportation” to ensure residents would 'get a good value.”

In addition, the company is looking into providing energy efficiency incentives to customers that would encourage customers to begin EV charging within their own homes. Though widespread use and implementation of tech around electric vehicles may still be a few years down the line, Hedgecock said it still is quickly approaching.

'The Department of Energy anticipates within the next five years something like 20% of cars on the road will be some sort of hybrid of EV. We want to be ahead of the curve. We don't want customers not to have the ability to charge,” he said.