Rocky Mount installs first city-owned EV chargers

The city of Rocky Mount unveiled its first city-owned electric vehicle charging stations at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Edgecombe Community College.

The charging station on ECC’s campus is one of two installed in downtown Rocky Mount. The other charging station is in the Station Square parking lot at the corner of South Church and Nash Streets. Each station can charge two vehicles simultaneously.

There are a lot of incentives for driving electric in North Carolina, and more drivers are transitioning to EVs. Edgecombe Community College President Gregory McLeod said the new chargers are an important step for him and his wife.

"To be able to come here to campus and being able to charge it is like a game-changer,” he said.

McLeod said he had some hesitation about what it would be like to drive an EV in Rocky Mount, but the infrastructure is improving.

"I am not really worried like I was initially when I was first researching vehicles and thinking about it,” he said. “[The infrastructure] is there, and it’s improving,” he said.

According to the United States Department of Energy, there are now more than 11 charging stations in Rocky Mount.

WRAL’s 5 On Your Side team looked at the difference between all three EV charging levels last summer. It found there is a big difference between levels 1 and 3:

• Level 1 is essentially plugging your car into your outlet at home. It’s the slowest option, taking anywhere from 40-50 hours to charge from empty. This is the entry-level option for charging at home with minimal cost to set up.
• Level 2 is quicker, typically taking between 4-10 hours to charge. This is the most common type of public charger you’ll find. It can also be installed in your home with a cost varying from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.
• Level 3 is also known as DC Fast Charging, and it can get you charged in 20-60 minutes. These chargers are typically located in cities and along major highways.

Chris Beschler, director of energy resources for Rocky Mount, said it is working on improving its infrastructure.

"It is one of the things across the United States that is a problem. The number of vehicles [is] growing but the infrastructure is not keeping up with it,” Beschler said.

Beschler said Rocky Mount will be opening its first fast-charging station this summer at the Rocky Mount Event Center. The hope is to have that station installed before the end of June.

"We have room to expand," he said. "So, as demand grows and as more residents buy vehicles, we have the ability to expand the number of stations we have especially at this location.”