Howard County Becomes 15th Nationwide To Endorse Charge@Work Pledge

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — The county has become the first jurisdiction in the state and only the 15th nationwide to endorse the Charge@Work pledge for electric vehicles.

"As we remain focused on expanding energy independence, Howard County is leading by example to achieve our ambitious climate action goals, including the reduction of the county’s greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent by 2030. Because transportation accounts for more than half of Howard County’s greenhouse gas emissions, we remain committed to accelerating the adoption of EVs and increasing access to EV chargers both within the county government and in the community. Since 2019, we have increased the number of EV chargers on Howard County government property by more than sevenfold," said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball.

There are currently nearly 90 EV charging stations on Howard County-owned property alone with more than 60 of those available to the public. Howard County is actively seeking federal, state and private funding to support EV charging infrastructure expansion and is partnering with Maryland Energy Administration, Maryland Department of Transportation and others to identify and prioritize sites for additional EV chargers on private and public properties.

"Total plug-in vehicle registrations in Howard County have grown by nearly 50 percent over the past year, demonstrating a growing demand for EV charging locations. By taking the Charge@Work pledge, we hope to unlock additional resources and assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy to accelerate our efforts toward the HoCo Climate Forward goals," said Tim Lattimer, administrator, Office of Community Sustainability.

In 2019, Howard County became the first jurisdiction in Maryland and one of the first nationwide to require “EV-ready” wiring in new residential construction with driveways or garages. New multi-family residential buildings are required to provide one EV charging station for every 25 units.

Howard County also is taking steps to electrify its fleet vehicles. The official fleet currently includes more than 20 fully electric vehicles, six electric motorcycles and more than 200 hybrid vehicles. Ball has committed to transitioning the county’s entire administrative fleet to plug-in hybrid or fully electric vehicles by December 2025.

“Electrifying Howard County fleet vehicles is a crucial component of our greenhouse gas reduction goals,” said Robert Phillips, administrator of the Howard County Office of Central Fleet. “Increasing workplace charging will help Howard County achieve its goal to reduce our fleet petroleum use by 20 percent by 2024.”