Plug-In Sites

On Friday July 25, 2014 the County Council of Howard County, Maryland passed bill CB36-2014, which basically prohibits what EV drivers call ICEing at charging stations that have been designated with an official sign reserving the space exclusively for plug-in vehicles.

The bill was introduced by my county council representative, Jen Terrasa, and passed 4-0 with one council member recusing himself. When this bill goes into effect 61 days after enactment, it will mean that a vehicle that is not a plug-in that is parked at a charging station with an official parking control sign that conforms to applicable standards can be ticketed or towed in Howard County. The key part of this is that an official sign MUST be in place for the law to apply. As council member Terrasa pointed out during the vote, the decision is left up to the property owner whether they want to erect the signs to assign the parking spots as exclusive to plug-in vehicles and therefore make it enforceable.

Howard County wasted no time in putting up the required signs. The vote was on Friday afternoon and less than 24 hours later on Saturday, all the EV charging stations on County property had signs that read, “Electric Vehicles Charging Only” and many also had the parking spots painted green with “Electric Vehicle Charging Station” stenciled on the pavement. Perhaps the signs were previously planned and it was a coincidence or the county had an incredibly fast response in anticipation of the new law.

Passage of the bill is only the first stage. In order for the law to be effective, private property owners will have to be convinced to place official regulatory signs where ICEing is a problem. Without those signs, the law will be meaningless. I already have several sites in mind that could use signs to discourage ICEing.

Howard County is the second in the state of Maryland to pass such a law and the county has demonstrated leadership in initiatives to help the adoption of plug-in vehicles. Special thanks to District 3 Council Member Terrasa and her Special Assistant, Jamie Shopland, who worked diligently on this bill. I kept in contact with them throughout the drafting of the bill and when I saw language requiring that the vehicle be plugged in and actively charging, I pointed out the problems with that (as articulated by Plug In America, Chelsea Sexton and other EV advocates with California AB475) and the language was removed before the bill was introduced. I appreciate that responsiveness to our concerns.

There was a great turnout of EV drivers at the public comment session in front of the council. (here is a video of the testimony) And many people wrote letters of support to the council which demonstrates that there is a constituency that cares about issues involving plug-in electric vehicles.

@Lanny

“ICEd.” It’s a term that stirs up EV drivers. To find a spot ICEd means that a vehicle with an Internal Combustion Engine, or ICE, is blocking access to a charging station.

The problem of gasoline powered vehicles parking in front of electric vehicle charging stations has been an issue at some locations in Howard County, Maryland where I live. To gain an understanding of the problem, one can view the reports on PlugShare, a popular app used to review EV charging sites, and see comments that note the driver couldn’t plug in because the station was ICEd. Many of these reports of being ICEd are at stations located on property owned by the Columbia Association.

I have written to Columbia Association (CA) officials several times expressing my gratitude for the charging stations but also suggesting that they take steps to ensure that the parking spots adjacent to them remain available for plug-in vehicles to use. I’ve suggested placing appropriate signage to discourage non plug in vehicles from parking there. They’ve responded that part of the reason for not erecting official no parking signs at the stations is the lack of legislation that allows for enforcement.

Ensuring access to charging stations is a relevant policy issue because many of those public stations were funded with tax payer money. It is my understanding that the charging stations on CA property were partly funded through a US Department of Energy grant. The cost of installing Level 2 public charging stations is generally between $6,000 and $10,000 each. That investment goes to waste each time they are not accessible for their intended use.

There is a history of attempts at legislation to address this problem in the Maryland General Assembly. In the 2012 session, Delegate Guy Guzzone, who represents my district, co-sponsored HB108. I wrote and offered input and support for that bill but HB108 didn’t pass.

In 2013, a similar bill HB1149 was introduced but it also failed to move through.

Earlier this year, Delegate Frank Turner, who also represents my district, co-sponsored HB1020 which died after an unfavorable report in the House Environmental Matters Committee.

Meanwhile, Montgomery County passed a law (bill 32-13) which is the first in the state of Maryland to deal with the issue of ICEing. I was the only person to attend the public comment session and testify in support of the Montgomery County bill. The bill ended up passing unanimously and the law became effective on June 11, 2014.

After the state bill failed for the third year in a row, I contacted my Howard County Council representative for District 3, Jen Terrasa, and explained the problem that plug in vehicle drivers face and asked her to propose a law to address this in Howard County. I provided links to resources including the Montgomery County bill, the text of Maryland bill HB1020 and a report from the Maryland Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Council.

I also cautioned against some factors that might sound good on the surface but actually have unintended consequences. One of those is requiring the vehicle to be plugged in or charging while parked at a charging station. Experienced EV advocates including Chelesa Sexton, from the movie “Who Killed the Electric Car,” fought against that provision in California AB 475. The argument against language requiring vehicles to remain connected is that no matter how or why your electric vehicle becomes unplugged, it can be towed, even if you can prove that you were connected to begin with.

Councilwoman Terrasa also heard from other Maryland EV drivers who have experienced being ICEd and who supported the introduction of legislation to deal with the issue.

On June 26, 2014, Councilwoman Terrasa filed CB36-2014 to reserve parking at charging stations that are designated with certain signage for plug in vehicles only.

The current text of the bill is located here. In my opinion, it covers all the bases without any of the well-meaning language that could cause difficulties in actual practice.

The bill uses the harmonized definition of a plug in vehicle used by the state which includes cars that have been converted from gasoline to electric. It will apply to private property but only if the property owner elects to erect an official sign. It does not require a plug in car to be charging or plugged in which could prevent plug swapping or leave an innocent driver susceptible to a fine or towing if someone unplugs their car without authorization. Time limits can be imposed to deal with squatters where necessary. And let’s face it, the real problem is not so much other plug in drivers, it is the gas cars parking at charging stations that needs to be solved.

According to the Maryland MVA, there are 252 plug in vehicles in Howard County as of December 2013. That ranks the county third in the state. There are over 35 public charging stations at 13 sites in the county.

Howard County Government is a huge supporter of EVs. They installed the first public charging stations in the county in 2011 at the Dorsey Building. They have a number of plug in vehicles in their fleet including a Nissan Leaf used by the Sheriff’s department. And recently they installed four more charging stations at the George Howard building where the County Council meets.

The Howard County Council will receive public comment on the bill on July 21, 2014, at 6:30 PM in the Banneker Room of the George Howard Building located at 3430 Courthouse Drive, Ellicott City, MD 21043.

I have already signed up to testify in support of the bill at the public hearing. If you are interested in joining me, you can sign-up in person the night of the hearing, or online by clicking here. You may also submit written testimony, comments or questions to Councilwoman Jen Terrasa or to the entire Council. See this contact page.

The Council is expected to vote on CB36 on July 25, 2014.

@Lanny