Charging Stations Coming To Glencoe With Help From Matching Grant

GLENCOE, IL — A pair of new electric car charging stations are coming to Glencoe with the support of money from an annual grant program sponsored by Commonwealth Edison and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus.

Now in its seventh year, the Powering Safe Communities Program provides public safety grants of up to $10,000 to local governments in towns where ComEd provides electricity service.

The partnership with the Mayors Caucus, a council for chief elected officials in the Chicago area, has distributed more than $1 million worth of grants to 136 projects in northern Illinois since the program began, according to representatives of the power company.

This year, 20 public agencies received a total of $170,000 in grants, which focused on clean transportation projects. They ranged from new fans and defibrillators for fire departments, electric cars and new squad car cameras for police or a pole-mounted automatic license plate reader.

ComEd provides the funding for the program, the Mayors Caucus reviews applications and administers the grants to local governments, which each match the ComEd contribution with their own money of equal or greater value. Nearly 60 communities applied this year, according to ComEd.

In Glencoe, $10,000 in grant money will help pay for the installation of two, Level 2 ChargePoint electric vehicle charging stations, each of them are equipped with two charging ports to accommodate four vehicles at a time.

Village officials will be able to set different rates and conditions for visitors, tenants in the downtown area and village-owned vehicles, according to ComEd. Glencoe village staff said the software for the station will allow port availability remotely and reserve timeslot for charging. It will also provide usage data to village.

Melissa Washington, senior vice president of governmental and external affairs at ComEd, said the company knows the importance of safety.

“Each community that was awarded this grant is committed to the safety of their residents and we commend them for their efforts," Washington said. "ComEd is proud to work with the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus to help these communities’ address their public safety needs.”

The village will cover more than $20,000 of the associated costs. According to village staff, the two stations will be installed in the parking lot of Village Court. It will also include underground infrastructure to accommodate additional future stations in the parking lot.

According to village staff, the installation of the stations is aimed at reducing the village's carbon footprint by encouraging and normalizing the use of electric cars. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.