Tuesday 28 April 2020

Chicago’s new building regulations require EV charging infrastructure to be installed

Chicago City Council has approved new regulations requiring all new residential buildings and commercial properties to have a specific amount of electric vehicle (EV) chargers available for use.

According to the new plan, all new construction of residential buildings with five or more units and commercial properties with 30 or more parking spaces must have EV equipment installed at 20% of the parking spaces.

Policymakers say the regulations could provide many benefits, including reducing future costs for installing EV supply equipment by as much as six times than the price of retrofitting.

Additionally, this plan is expected to allow future owners or tenants to install EV supply equipment more easily and will also encourage EV sales as the vehicles will be more easily accommodated.

Lori Lightfoot, Chicago's Mayor, said: "I am pleased to see the city taking another step toward becoming more environmentally sound through increasing the ease and accessibility for Chicago residents to own and operate EVs.

“Having more EVs and fewer gas-powered vehicles on our streets will help move Chicago closer toward meeting its ambitious climate goals in the years to come – making Chicago a cleaner city for all who live and work here."