By Dave Timmons, District 2 Commissioner
Have you noticed that there are more and more all-electric and hybrid vehicles on our highways? A full hybrid vehicle means it has both a gas engine and an electric motor to power the vehicle. A full hybrid doesn’t depend on an external charger to keep the batteries charged, but charges when the gas engine is running. Electric vehicles, on the other hand, depend on an external charger to keep the batteries charged in order to power the vehicle, which means they need access to the energy provided by utilities like the PUD. A few weekends ago I was crossing the Wishkah Bridge coming into Aberdeen when I noticed several electric vehicles at the Tesla charging station on Wishkah and F Street, waiting for their turn to charge up. I would guess that most of these people began their trip after charging their vehicles at home the night before, knowing they’d have the opportunity to stop at this charging station in Aberdeen, not thinking there would be this backup. It seems very clear that with the popularity growing for electric vehicles, we will certainly need to increase the ability for visitors and residents to charge their electric vehicles without waiting in a long line. That means more charging stations will be needed. It can take between 30 minutes to 2 or 3 hours to fully charge an electric vehicle. Some people might look at that as time wasted, but for local businesses, that can mean time spent by drivers eating at restaurants or shopping at stores in our communities while their vehicles charge.
In addition to positive impacts on local business, more EV’s will also have an impact on utility power needs. More vehicles using more charging stations, means more power being supplied by the Grays Harbor PUD and other utilities across the state. At the same time utilities are seeing an increase in power demands, the hydro system that provides nearly 80% of the Grays Harbor power supply is under attack. Even without EV’s, the demand for power is on the rise across the state, along with requirements that the energy provided be emission free. With those demands, it just does not seem like the time to consider removing clean and reliable energy generation like the Federal Columbia River Power System. Electric vehicles are going to be part of our future. We need to be ready for the changes and the challenges that they will bring with them.