With the explosion of electric vehicles (EV) has come a demand for charging stations. This has created some confusion as to who bears responsibility for creating EV charging station infrastructure. Since charging stations require electricity, some people wrongly assume that the Board of Light and Power (BLP) is responsible for creating EV charging infrastructure on public property. While the BLP does play a role, they are not the drivers of the effort.
As demonstrated during the July 20, 2023, meeting of the Board of Light and Power, even Grand Haven City Councilman Mike Fritz did not understand the roles of individual Grand Haven city organizations. He asked the BLP if they could install some electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. (2:20)
“I sit on city council; been there for a long time. I just want to say I've been stressed. A long time ago I brought attention to you that we need charging stations for electric vehicles. I've had a couple of businesses ask me again if we could work together with the city of Grand Haven, and also with you guys, together, and also with the private sector. They would be willing to put some in their businesses. If you need to, I have some list of people that have been asking me.”
Additionally, BLP Board Member Andrea either did not understand the BLP’s role, or purposely perpetuated misinformation. It is odd that she would publicly disparage a board for which she is a member.
BLP General Manager Dave Walters explained the BLP’s role in EV charging station infrastructure near the end of the meeting. (3:37:00)
The BLP is responsible for installing and maintaining power distribution infrastructure such as power lines, but they do not install endpoints that connect to their lines such as EV charging stations. In addition, the BLP is not involved in parking. If the city wanted to create public EV charging stations, the charging stations would be installed by whomever the city contracts with to do the installation, and after that the city would come to the BLP with a request to extend lines to the desired charging station.
Typically, power produced by the BLP is not available for resale. Therefore, an additional agreement between the city and the BLP would be necessary to allow for resale, and a special meter would be necessary. Because the BLP would sell the power to the city, and the city would resell the power, it would be the city that would set the rates on the EV chargers owned by them. If the city chose to provide free power, or sell power at a loss, that decision would be up to them.
So far, the BLP has not received any formal requests to extend power lines, but the BLP has worked with the city to identify good locations for charging stations.