Everything You Need to Know About Charging an Electric Vehicle in Connecticut

Last week, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont withdrew his plan to mandate all CT vehicles be electric by 2035.

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The plan was met with pushback from a number of groups but the loudest seemed to be automobile dealerships throughout the Nutmeg State.

According to Fox News:

Lamont ultimately pulled the proposal just four months after unveiling it and characterizing it as decisive action to meet our climate pollution reduction targets.

We have talked a lot about EV's on the I-95 Morning Show recenly and I kept wondering what I would care about if I owned one? I kept coming back to the same place, what does it cost and where I can power up? Recently, I decided to find some of that information and I want to share it with you.

How Many Charging Stations Are There in CT?

A September 2022 report from CT Insider says there are 1,300 public chargers and 465 designated stations. Just Jerry's article from August of 2023 says CT has 1,489 publicly available stations. The U.S. Department of Energy lists Connecticut as having 715 station locations and over 2,058 EVSE Ports. So no one can seem to agreee on the total but Pick whatever number you want, it's not enough.

What Do the Numbers Look Like in Danbury?

A recent report from State Scoop says Danbury has over 70,000 registered vehicles but only 55 charging stations according to a popular app that helps people find chargers in their local area.

What about Charging Levels?

There are 4 different levels of charger you need to know about.

LEVEL 1: Plugging your vehicle into a regular 120-volt electrical outlet which takes 8-20 hours to get a full charge according to Just Jerry.
LEVEL 2: Plugging your vehicle into a 240-volt electrical outlet which is like the port you have for your washing machine. Level 2 ports are compatible with most EV's and this takes anywhere from 3-6 hours to fully charge a dead battery.
LEVEL 3: Plugging your car into a dedicated 480-volt charging port. This is called DC fast-charging and this can charge an EV battery to 80% in 30 minutes.
Tesla Supercharger: Tesla has their own DC fast charger designed for their vehicles only. A non-Tesla could charge at one of these stations if they have an adapter.

Danbury has a total of forty Level 2 chargers and fifteen Level 3 chargers.

Is There an App That Can Help Me Find Public Charging Stations?

Charge Hub seems to be a reliable resource for finding charging stations in Connecticut.

What Does it Cost?

Not all charges are created equally. Danbury has 32 free charging ports and 23 paid chargers.

Enelxway.com says:

Overall, charging your car at a public EV charging station is more expensive than charging at home. Public charging systems that charge based on kWh average anywhere between $0.30 and $0.60 per kWh compared to $0.16 per kWh at home. The exact amount depends on local electricity cost and regulations, as well as the type of charger. Level 2 chargers generally cost between $0.20 and $0.25 per kWh, while Level 3 chargers, which are more common in public, range from $0.40 to $0.60 per kWh.

They say charging your car at home is cheaper than a public-pay station but you need to buy the home charging port. While the State of Connecticut offers rebates that will save you money, the chargers are expensive. You'd also be using more electricity and you'll have to pay Eversource for that.

I looked into a Level 2 home charging station and the prices run anywhere from $150-9,000. That is not a misprint, it's a wide range.

Level 3 Home Charging Stations are way more expensive and the price varies wildly from $700 - 100,000. Again, that is not a misprint; there are chargers that cost 100k.

What Were Listeners Saying About Lamont's EV Mission?

We talked a lot about the EV mandate proposal on the I-95 Morning Show and it generated a lot of talk. Here are some of the things our listeners were saying:

Anthony from Mahopac said: "The power grid cannot support that kind of electric demand. Unless we jump back on the nuclear train which I don't see happening, btw very clean and efficient power. Back on target the other thing no one really talks about is fires. When these cars catch, the fire cannot be put out. Imagine one goes into a garage and the whole thing is coming down. Past that these environmentalists also don't realize these cars leave a larger carbon footprint from the manufacturing process and mining for the battery materials alone then couple it when the batteries get disposed of it is insanity for what boils down to a feel good purchase."

Jamie from Torrington wrote: "Power grid here in CT and in ny would never be able to handle the load."

JSB from Holmes remarked: "The whole power grid is nowhere near ready for that kind of a load."