Chattanooga, TN (Apr. 7, 2022) – EPB has new, free electric vehicle charging stations on the first floor of the EPB parking garage in Downtown Chattanooga that are open to the public.

As part of EPB’s continuing effort to help our community benefit as the automotive industry accelerates the shift to electric vehicles, Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly and Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger joined EPB in announcing the new EV charging stations on April 7.

“Sustainability is an essential part of Chattanooga’s brand and our local economy,” said Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. “EPB is an innovator in this emerging green economy, and I am grateful for their many partnerships and green initiatives like this one. The EPB Smart Grid was recently named the most resilient, reliable, PEER certified utility grid in the United States, making them the perfect leader to ensure Gig City is EV-ready.”

“The entire Tennessee Valley will benefit from EV adoption,” said Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger. “Volkswagen Chattanooga is an EV leader. VW is investing $800 million locally to produce electric vehicles and adding an EV Battery Testing Lab here. Volkswagen has already started production of the ID4 here in Hamilton County, they have three mainstream EV models in their pipeline, and VW has said it will launch its last combustion platform in 2026.”

The new parking deck chargers are part of EPB’s on-going effort to raise awareness about the benefits of the shift to EVs for our region while also providing resources to make the change easier for people in the Chattanooga area. EPB is offering 13 EV charging spaces with clear signage on the first floor of the EPB parking garage which has an entrance at the back of the building on 10th Street between Broad and MLK. The public pays to park in the EPB parking garage, but the EV charging stations are free. Parking starts at only $1 with a daily maximum of $8. There are also three additional free EV charging stations on the roof of the EPB parking deck.”

“EVs offer many benefits for both our individual customers and our community as a whole,” said David Wade, EPB President & CEO. “Electric vehicle adoption supports local jobs and allows us to more fully utilize our existing community infrastructure. They’re fast and fun to drive, they can charge at home for about 1/3 of the cost of gas for the same miles and the maintenance costs are lower.”

In addition, EPB has launched three new company policies designed to support local companies in deploying additional EV charging options: a Commercial EV Rate, a New Construction EV Growth Credit and an Incentive for Public EV Chargers for Commercial Customers. EPB is also partnering with TVA, the State of Tennessee and others to add electric charging stations every 50 miles on major highways across Tennessee.

“EVs are the industry trend for auto manufacturers,” said Elizabeth Hammitt, EPB Director of Residential Energy & Environmental Solutions. “Studies show that there will be 60+ EV and hybrid model cars on the road by 2023. By 2030, EVs will be 30% of all new car sales. By 2040, EVs will be 70% of all new car sales. Eleven auto manufacturers plan to be carbon neutral by 2050.”

This announcement is part of EPB’s Earth Month celebration. Join EPB all April long with events and activities like the EPB Energy Pros GreenLift Giveaway. Entrants will have a chance to win exciting energy-efficiency prizes that will total more than $10,000 over the course of the month. The EPB Energy Pros will also be on hand for an Earth Day celebration at Miller Park, EPB Night at the Lookouts and EPB Night at Chattanooga Football Club (CFC). Learn more at EPB.com/GreenLift.

Make every month Earth Month with the help of our EPB Energy Pros. EPB customers can schedule a free EPB Energy Pros Consultation or free EPB Home Energy Check-up. This is available to both homeowners and renters in our EPB service territory. Our EPB Energy Pros can do an in-person or virtual inspection of customers’ homes and give them personalized recommendations about the most cost-effective ways to make their homes healthier and more energy efficient. They can recommend TVA approved contractors and they’ll even inspect the contractor’s work when the project is complete to ensure optimal customer benefit. Book an appointment today at EPB.com/energypros.

For more information, contact EPB anytime at 423-648-1372. Our local, award-winning customer service and tech support teams are available 24/7/365. You can also live chat with them at EPB.com.

About EPB

EPB serves the people of the Chattanooga area with advanced smart city infrastructure to enable world-class energy and connectivity solutions that include the most resilient smart grid power distribution system in the United States and the fastest internet in the world. EPB gained national notice when it deployed a community-wide fiber optic network accessible to all its customers and used it to launch America’s first Gig-speed internet in 2010 (beating Google Fiber by 4 years) as well as the first 10 Gig internet service available as a standard offer to all residences and businesses in 2015.

EPB also utilized the fiber optic network as the communications backbone for deploying more than 200,000 smart switches, sensors and other devices to establish the most advanced and highly automated smart grid in the nation. As a result, the U.S. Department of Energy named EPB a living laboratory for pioneering smart grid technologies. Since then, EPB has partnered with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and more than 20 other national research partners to play a critical role in more than $155 million in smart city research. EPB was also the first major power distribution utility to earn the GBCI’s PEER certification for having a highly automated, modernized electric power grid in 2015 and followed up in 2021 by re-certifying at PEER Gold.

EPB is an independent board of the City of Chattanooga which began serving customers in 1939. Visit epb.com for more information.

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