Montgomery County has released its first ever guidelines for installing electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at home. The guidelines regulate and provide for permitting the installation of privately owned car charging stations in garages, driveways and in the public right of way adjacent to County streets.

The new guidelines were released as the County continues to join in the annual international celebration of “Building Safety Month.” This year’s theme is Sustainability, Innovation and Resiliency.

The guidelines were developed as a collaborative effort by Montgomery County’s Department of Permitting Services (DPS) and the Department of Transportation (MCDOT). In addition to prioritizing safety and flexibility, the new guidelines are designed to be easily understood by residents. The departments worked closely with local electrical utility providers and held public meetings to collect feedback on the proposed guidelines.

The new guidelines can be viewed at https://tinyurl.com/y8llnzra.

Montgomery County residents and businesses own an estimated 5,400 electric vehicles and 3,500 plug-in hybrids. Nearly 40 percent of all electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in Maryland are located within Montgomery County. The Maryland Department of the Environment’s Zero Emission Vehicles Program has set a goal of having 60,000 zero emission vehicles in the State by 2020 and 300,000 by 2025.

“As Montgomery County strives to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, providing safe ways to charge while parked on public streets should make it easier for residents to own and operate the electric vehicles that will play an important role in helping us reach that goal,” said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich.

“DPS is excited to celebrate this week of Innovation and Sustainability with the release of these guidelines, which simplify the permitting process for residents,” said new DPS Director Mitra Pedoeem. “DPS has streamlined the process for installing solar panels, adopted green building codes, expanded online permits and implemented other innovations to reduce the carbon footprint in the County. DPS looks to further collaborations with MCDOT and other County departments to make our communities greener and safer.”

Having viable options for charging is a key aspect toward increasing the number of people who would drive electric vehicles.

“MCDOT is committed to creating a sustainable transportation system,” said MCDOT Director Chris Conklin. “We have installed electric vehicle charging stations in many of our parking garages, purchased electric and alternative fueled buses, implemented bike- and e-scooter sharing and many other measures to reduce transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. These new EV charging guidelines are the logical next step to encourage a shift to lower emission vehicles and ensure that charging on our public streets is done safely. The result is easy to understand and implement right now, but also allows us to adapt as technology advances.”

Incentives are available to encourage drivers to consider buying an EV vehicle or hybrid. More information is available at https://mde.maryland.gov/programs/Air/MobileSources/Pages/ZEV.aspx.

The Department of Permitting Services will soon be hosting a webinar on this EV charging policy. Information on the webinar will be posted on the DPS and MCDOT websites.

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