Ellicottville installs four EV charging stations through National Grid program | News

ELLICOTTVILLE — The village of Ellicottville, through National Grid’s Electric Vehicle Make-Ready Program, has installed four Level 2 EV charging plugs in its new 125-space parking lot to be used by tourists, local business patrons and area residents.

Local and county officials met at the parking lot with National Grid representatives Friday to officially designate the chargers ready for use.

The charger project received nearly $24,000 in incentives from National Grid’s EV Make-Ready Program, representing about half of the total installation costs.

National Grid also provided the village with funding to add to its existing electricity infrastructure, allowing it to accommodate more EV charging if additional plugs are desired at the 9 Mill St. parking lot in the future.

Ellicottville Mayor John Burrell thanked National Grid not only for providing the four chargers but also for giving them the infrastructure to add more EV chargers as the need arises.

“We’re excited about the parking lot, and this is of course a big part of it,” he said.

Burrell said the new lot and EV chargers should bolster Ellicottville’s already impressive infrastructure, noting that the village was recognized for having one of “America’s Best Main Streets” by USA Today in April.

“We have several events year-round as Ellicottville is a destination for so many people,” the mayor said. “We now have additional parking spaces and are hopeful that the few hundred people who work in the village during the week will enjoy the new lot.”

“Our Make-Ready Program is ideally suited for municipalities like the Village of Ellicottville,” said Whitney Skeans, National Grid’s EV Make-Ready Program Manager. EV drivers will be able to find these stations on popular plug-finding apps, she said.

“One of the advantages that Level 2 chargers create is that while their vehicles are being charged visitors may shop, dine, stay overnight and support area businesses,” she added

Burrell expressed thanks to Cattaraugus County and National Grid for their help in the project’s success. Now, the Ellicottville community and its more than 25,000 visitors will benefit from the additional parking and the ability to charge vehicles, the mayor added.

“The county furnished the land for us, which was a really good deal and a big gift from the county, and then agreed to pay 80 percent of the project construction costs,” he said. “It will get well used.”

Burrell noted that the new lot will have a new pedestrian access walkway that is less than one block from Martha Street and two blocks from the heart of the village. He said they’re planning to install more signage to make the public aware the lot is ready and available.

Brian McFadden, Executive Director of the Ellicottville Chamber of Commerce, said they are excited about the new lot and have been devising ways to get the word out to both locals and visitors.

“We’re working as hard as we can to get people to know it’s here and we’re happy to help,” he added.

Skeans said they love to do these projects in communities that service a lot of local workers and out-of-towners who support the tourism economy. She said the program is open to any business customer.

“We love to shine a spotlight on these initiatives because other customers get a little bit jealous,” she said. “We’re one of six utilities offering these make-ready incentives,” which are meant to prepare infrastructure to support the future of electric vehicles and additional charging stations.

National Grid’s Upstate New York EV Make-Ready Program helps business customers fund up to 100% of project costs related to installing electricity infrastructure. Projects such as the installation of EV charging stations in Ellicottville demonstrate the collaborative nature of how National Grid works with customers toward shared, clean energy goals.

“I always say to customers, ‘This is your money. Let’s make use of it,’” Skeans said. “Thank you to the leadership from the mayor, the county, the chamber — everyone who came together to enable this great gift for years to come.”

These kinds of projects also align with New York state’s climate action initiatives that call for reduced greenhouse gas emissions, improved air quality and zero-emission vehicle regulations by 2035. Skeans said their goal is to install 9,000 EV charging plugs throughout upstate New York.

The state provided additional support to meet these goals in November when it announced additional infrastructure funding to accelerate electric vehicle adoption and stimulate $4 billion in EV charging infrastructure investments.

For more information about National Grid’s EV Make-Ready Program, email EVNationalGridUNY@nationalgrid.com.