Month: August 2022

The Connecticut Department of Transportation today announced its submission of Connecticut’s Charging Ahead Plan: A Strategy to Expand Public Electric Vehicle Charging to the U.S. Department of Transportation, establishing the state’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program.

The NEVI program aims to build out a national system of electric vehicle (EV) chargers to enhance EV driver confidence while traveling long distances, including across state lines.

Established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the NEVI formula program will provide $5 billion over five years for states to deploy direct current (DC) fast EV chargers along highway corridors. The funds can be used within one mile of federally approved designated corridors, with less than a 50-mile gap between chargers.

“Connecticut’s NEVI plan will provide our state with a robust roadmap to catalyze the expansion of a safe, reliable, and accessible fast-charging EV network along our interstates,” Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Joe Giulietti said. “Transformational infrastructure programs focused on reducing carbon emissions like this will create a cleaner, more equitable, and resilient transportation system for all drivers.”

The NEVI Program provides formula funding to states to award grants to private, public, and nonprofit entities to build, own, maintain and operate chargers. The program pays up to 80 percent of eligible costs for charging infrastructure. CTDOT will not own or operate any EV chargers.

Phase one of Connecticut’s NEVI Plan will focus on building up to 10 locations consisting of at least four individual public DC fast chargers with a minimum power level of 150kW per port along Connecticut’s interstate system.

Connecticut was one of eleven states to sign the Zero-Emission Vehicle Memorandum of Understanding in 2013 and has committed to an ambitious EV adoption goal of 125,000-150,000 EVs on the road by 2025. With the increased deployment of electric vehicle charging equipment, it’s anticipated that consumers will experience reduced range anxiety and increased confidence in charging accessibility. The new funding for charging infrastructure buildout will encourage EV adoption, and also augment the existing Utilities Make-Ready Program and DEEP’s Volkswagen Diesel Mitigation-Zero Emission Infrastructure grant programs.

As of July 2022, there were over 25,000 EVs registered in Connecticut–a fraction of the nearly 2.9 million light-duty passenger cars and trucks registered in Connecticut. Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (CTDMV) records indicate that over the last year, more than 10,800 new light-duty EVs have been registered in Connecticut, increasing from over 9,700 the previous year.

For more information, visit Connecticut’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program (NEVI).

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(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he is directing $3.5 million in funds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) to be allocated to Connecticut’s utility-administered energy efficiency programs for low-income customers. This support will increase the delivery of energy efficiency programs that save residents money on their utility bills while reducing energy use and carbon emissions.

The funding augments an approximate annual budget of $37 million dedicated to low-income energy efficiency programs statewide and will be used to support the Home Energy Solutions-Income Eligible (HES-IE) program, allowing the program to reach approximately 1,000 additional homes in 2022.

HES-IE provides home energy audits and core weatherization measures, such as air and duct sealing, for an average savings of $250 on annual household energy bills. After the initial HES-IE visit, customers can receive additional upgrades, such as insulation and efficient windows, that can provide even more savings. Income-eligible customers receive these services for little to no cost through the HES-IE program. HES-IE is available to customers that have a household income that is 60% or less than the state median income, participate in utility forgiveness or matching payment programs, or receive other forms of means-tested assistance.

“Global disruptions in the energy sector are hitting low-income households especially hard, and initiatives like this are designed to provide relief,” Governor Lamont said. “I’ve worked to protect our state’s award-winning energy efficiency programs from damaging budget sweeps and supported Connecticut efficiency contractors through pandemic disruptions. These programs are here to help consumers save money during this energy crisis. These funds will help our most vulnerable residents lower their energy costs, while also helping the environment.”

“Energy efficiency is at the core of the Lamont administration’s strategy to reduce emissions from the electric sector, an area Connecticut has made tremendous strides in over the past several years,” Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Katie Dykes said. “The RGGI program has long been a workhorse providing funding for our energy efficiency programs, and protecting ratepayer efficiency funds has been a priority of Governor Lamont since he took office. This funding will provide residents with a sustainable source of savings on energy costs over time and will be complimented by DEEP’s latest Conservation and Load Management Plan, which directs Connecticut’s utilities to redirect RGGI funding as needed to programs benefitting low-income, energy burdened, and other underserved customers, including those who live in multi-unit dwellings.”

Under Governor Lamont’s leadership and DEEP’s oversight, the energy efficiency programs are well-positioned to meet this heightened demand. In addition to protecting ratepayer efficiency funds from being diverted for other purposes, the Lamont administration has also taken steps to build capacity in Connecticut’s energy efficiency workforce, including through the 2021 launch of the Office of Workforce Strategy’s CareerConneCT program, which will train local workers in in-demand industries such as energy efficiency. With this support, energy efficiency programs will continue to be a source of energy savings, emissions reduction, and economic development for the state.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lamont administration, including DEEP and the Department of Economic and Community Development, worked closely with the utilities, Energy Efficiency Board, contractors, and other stakeholders to ensure contractors could continue to perform essential services for customers through the statewide energy efficiency programs by implementing health and safety procedures and incentivizing customer participation. These measures generated record levels of demand for the energy efficiency programs that persist to this day. Demand for the state’s utility energy efficiency programs has peaked this year as consumers look for ways to curb their energy costs.

HES-IE is one of many utility-administered energy efficiency programs available through the EnergizeCT initiative. Energize CT provides Connecticut residents and businesses with services, financing, and rebates for energy efficiency and clean energy improvements. More information is available at energizect.com.

RGGI is a cooperative effort among the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia to cap and reduce power sector CO2 emissions. RGGI is the nation’s first mandatory, market-based CO2 emissions reduction program. Within the RGGI states, fossil-fuel-fired electric power generators with a capacity of 25 megawatts or greater must hold allowances equal to their CO2 emissions over each three-year control period. Generators must also hold allowances equal to 50% of their emissions during each interim control period (the first two calendar years of each three-year control period). The current three-year control period is January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2023.

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