BUFFALO, N.Y. – National Grid, through its EV Make-Ready Program, has provided more than $150,000 to support the installation of 22 electric vehicle charging stations across Western New York within the last year.
           
“Our Make-Ready Program provides incentives that are ideal for businesses, multi-unit residential buildings, retailers and visitor attractions,” said National Grid EV Program Manager Whitney Skeans, who added that the new charging stations are among around 50 area projects that National Grid customers installed within the last year. “It’s gratifying to see so many customers leading clean energy actions while at the same time meeting customer and community needs that promote sustainability.” 

Among the National Grid customers that installed charging stations recently is Buffalo-based Gene McCarthy’s/Old First Ward Brewing Co.

“Installing EV charging stations would have meant incurring a significant expense, but National Grid’s incentive made the difference between us doing the project and not doing it,” said Bill Metzger, Gene McCarthy’s owner, who hired Buffalo-based PPR Energy Solutions to install the stations. Metzger added that his four Level 2 charging plugs are the first to be installed on the Buffalo Wing Trail, a tourist attraction that includes 14 area eateries.

“Adding the charging stations makes perfect sense for a restaurant such as ours because our guests, especially those from out-of-town, can top off their vehicles while dining,” he said.


Bill Metzger worked with National Grid's Whitney Skeans
to install EV charging stations at his Buffalo restaurant.   

Besides Gene McCarthy’s, the other projects that have been completed since December and have received National Grid Make-Ready Program incentives include the following:

• Batavia: Cedar Street Sales and Rental, Batavia: two Level 2 charging stations 
• Buffalo: Fernbach and Augspurger Parking Ramps: eight Level 2 charging stations (four in each lot)
• Snyder: Snyder Park, six Level 2 charging stations  
• Tonawanda: Manor Lanes, which installed two DC fast charging stations 

Level 2 chargers can provide an EV with 150 miles of range in four-to-eight hours of charging time. On average, a DC fast charging station can provide that same 150 miles of range in approximately 15-to-30 minutes.

Innovative EV Highways Study outlines future of clean energy transportation
In November National Grid co-authored a groundbreaking Electric Highways Study, which forecasts the future of fast charging along New York and Massachusetts highway corridors and provides a first-of-its-kind blueprint for powering the EV transition across the Northeast into 2045. The study provides details about the company’s vision to meet the power needs to upgrade highway sites for electric vehicle fast-charging, which will be critical to make clean transportation a reality. More about the study can be found here, or by emailing EVGridStudy@nationalgrid.com

EV Make-Ready Program Making Positive Impact Across WNY
Since the launch of National Grid’s Phase 2 EV Make-Ready Program in December 2020, more than $2.2 million in incentives have been paid to support more than 360 new charging ports across Western New York. This work is part of the company’s $143 million commitment to install 16,000 charging ports across New York by 2025, which supports the state’s goal of having 850,000 electric vehicles on the road by that year.

Striving to achieve these goals is one way that National Grid proactively collaborates with customers and community partners. These kinds of collaborations are part of National Grid’s Project C initiative, which was created to inspire change and create a more equitable future for the company’s customers and communities.

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