New Jersey Releases Guide to Gear Up Municipalities for Electric Vehicle Adoption

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Board of Public Utilities released a new guidebook named “Charge Up Your Town – Best Management Practices to Ensure Your Town is EV Ready” on March 8. This handbook will give municipalities a plan to become electric vehicle ready, from implementing the state-wide Electric Vehicle Supply/Service Equipment, or EVSE, ordinance to streamlining the permitting process and installing charging stations for fleet or public use.

As part of New Jersey’s pledge to lower energy use and greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, the state is employing a number of strategies to expand the quantity of EVs on the road and guarantee adequate public EV charging infrastructure. Municipalities are the cornerstone to this initiative. A significant proportion of EV charging stations connected across the state will be administered by municipal officials and the new guide is devised to help simplify that process.

The guidebook is a comprehensive manual that navigates communities through the process to enhance EV ease of access for all. The handbook provides straightforward descriptions of the various types of charging stations, power outputs, costs and electrical supply needs that will empower towns to choose the best station for their particular use. Other topics mentioned in the guide include: where to install signs, the potential time limit on charging, and information on charge usage fees.

There has been a vast interest from New Jersey cities in electric vehicles, after the implementation of the state-wide municipal law in September 2021. Moreover, this recently published guidebook, will equip towns with a pathway to help develop cost effective EV charging infrastructure. The guidebook is a vital step, as part of a larger strategy in helping the state meet its climate goals of achieving 100 percent clean energy by 2050.

Furthermore, the electrification of the transportation sector, the largest source of climate pollution in New Jersey, will help improve local air quality and health outcomes for community members.