Curbside charging stations, fleet infrastructure, and multi-unit residential charging stations are just a few of the projects Duquesne Light Company (DLC) has implemented since 2022 to make electric vehicles (EVs) more accessible for residents.
DLC is currently in the middle of a three-year program that aims to significantly expand public, workplace, multi-family, and fleet charging stations in Allegheny and Beaver counties so area residents and commuters can transition to electric mobility.
Accessibility to charging stations is something Jessica Mooney, project developer at DLC, said customers consistently say is a barrier to them driving EVs.
“DLC surveys all of [our] customers each year, and through that survey, we know that more than a quarter of our respondents are considering buying an EV,” Mooney said. “And then when they list the reasons why they might be hesitant, some of the barriers they talk about are the lack of public or workplace charging.”
That’s why DLC set out to fill those gaps by expanding the more than 600 public charging ports through initiatives :
- Community Charging Program: Helps expand the availability of EV charging at public, workplace, and multi-family properties.
- Electric Fleet Advisory Service: DLC will analyze participating customers’ fleet data and work closely with them to understand their requirements while providing a no-cost, custom roadmap to fleet electrification.
- Fleet Charging Program: For eligible customers who are already electrifying or planning to electrify their fleets, DLC will design, construct, and cover the costs to install electric charging make-ready infrastructure.
Mooney highlighted several large projects that DLC recently completed or is close to completing, including:
- Swissvale Borough: A community public charging project allowing EV drivers to parallel park right next to a curbside charging station.
- Arsenal 201: A project at an apartment complex in Lawrenceville that provides tenants with charging in the garage, giving residents the ability to charge their EVs overnight.
- Wilkinsburg Police Department: A fleet project that includes adding charging stations as part of a parking lot resurfacing.
- Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens: A workplace charging project that involves installing charging stations for employees.
“Charg[ing] while at work…is the perfect time,” Mooney said. “If you’re at work for eight hours, that would give you plenty of time to get a full charge on your vehicle while you’re working.”
DLC’s commitment to expand EV accessibility goes beyond cars, too. The company is actively working to increase access to alternative e- mobility options, such as electric bicycles and public transit.
“We have partnered with Pittsburgh Regional Transit to install the charging infrastructure for their first all-electric buses,” Mooney said.
Mooney added that it’s one of the many steps DLC will take to help PRT achieve its goal of being a zero-emission fleet by 2045.
“That impacts all of our neighborhoods in the city of Pittsburgh,” Mooney said. “So, the fact that we could have zero emission buses going through our neighborhoods and past our homes will make a huge difference when we think about air quality.”
DLC is also partnering with school bus companies to implement charging infrastructure that will support new all electric school buses, creating better experiences for students. They have also partnered with POGOH, Pittsburgh’s bikeshare program, to enable access to charging for electric bikes. Mooney said the next natural progression of promoting emobility is to create charging infrastructure for everything from EVs to e-bikes, something they’re talking to community leaders about.
“We’re working with communities and other partners to identify charging needs for micromobility,” Mooney said.
DLC plans to drive further awareness of emobility and EVs during National Drive Electric Week, an annual celebration of the benefits of electric transportation taking place Sept. 22-Oct. 1. DLC is the main sponsor of POGOH’s End of Summer Roll Up event, taking place at Westinghouse Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sept. 30.
“They have a number of activities for the whole family; they have food trucks [and] fitness classes; they’ll be music,” Mooney said. “It’s just a great way to come out and experience electric mobility; there will even be test rides of electric bikes for people to try out.”
DLC is also partnering with CONNECT and Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities on an event to educate local governments on the benefits of fleet electrification. Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities “works with vehicle fleets, fuel providers, community leaders, and other stakeholders to save energy and promote the use of domestic fuels and advanced vehicle technologies in transportation.”
The Sept. 20 event will include a bus tour geared toward local municipalities with a focus on environmental justice areas. They’ll tour recently completed projects like the Wilkinsburg PD charging stations. The tour will help community leaders visualize and talk about bringing EV accessibility to their areas, and participants will get firsthand experience riding in an all electric school bus.
In the meantime, Mooney said DLC hopes National Drive Electric Week will help people continue to realize the benefits and incentives surrounding EV ownership, highlighted in DLC’s Guide to Electric Vehicles.
“We want people to get excited about EVs, and we’ve certainly made the commitment to adopt [them],” Mooney said.
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