On Earth Day, Pepco hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the 200th electric vehicle (EV) charger to be installed in its Maryland service territory.
During the event, held at Wheaton Regional Park in Silver Spring, Md., Pepco Regional President Valencia McClure praised the opening of the new Level 2 chargers as a significant milestone for the electric company, which is on track to open 250 public Level 2 and DC fast chargers throughout its service territory by the end of the year.
“At Pepco, we are no strangers to the clean energy space,” McClure said, highlighting Pepco’s goal of converting half of its vehicle fleet to EVs by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050. “These chargers will help us, and help our customers, reduce emissions.”
The chargers, which are located across the parking lot from an existing Pepco-affiliated public DC fast charger, are capable of charging an empty EV battery up to 80 percent of its capacity within four to five hours. Sitting within a census tract defined as disadvantaged based on the White House’s Justice40 initiative, the chargers will help Pepco ensure that all customers, regardless of their socioeconomic background, have access to EV charging infrastructure, McClure said.
“It is so encouraging to see these sorts of clean infrastructure projects with this tie to environmental justice,” said Montgomery County Councilmember Natali Fani-González.
In 2019, Pepco launched its EVsmart public charging network, with the goal of installing 250 public chargers throughout its service territory. To advance the initiative, Pepco in 2022 partnered with Montgomery Parks and Prince George’s County Department of Parks and Recreation to install chargers on park land. To date, 74 chargers have been installed in 23 parks throughout Maryland.
During the event, Montgomery Parks Acting Deputy Director of Administration Darren Flusche noted that, through the county’s partnership with Pepco, nine additional charging locations are currently under construction. The chargers support Montgomery County’s goal of achieving 80-percent carbon emissions reduction by 2027 and net zero by 2035. Maryland, similarly, has set the goal of reaching net zero by 2045.
Pepco is a subsidiary company of the Exelon Corporation—which serves more than 10 million customers across several states and is a member of the National Electric Highway Coalition.
Visit Pepco’s website to learn more about the company’s public charging network and to find a charger within its service territory.
