Please take a moment to consider and support SB 438. This bill will enable an income tax credit to taxpayers who operate an electric car charging station that is available for use by the public. It will help to compensate for the costs to install and operate the station.

• Specifics of the bill are at: SB438 Details.
• To submit your testimony, go to SB438.
• If this is your first time to submit testimony, follow these instructions.

Charging stations are critical to adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) on our island. While affordable long-range EVs are becoming more available and charging at home will suffice for many, there will be others who will rely on public charging stations. EV owners who live off-grid and those who live in multi-dwelling situations (condos and apartments) will need access to these stations.

There are several strategies to enhance our public EV charging infrastructure and we’ve seen a significant improvement over the past 5 years. These include policies to encourage commercial property owners to install charging stations, efforts by HELCO to create a DC Fast Charger network, and the installation of charging stations in county facilities. Another strategy is for EV owners to offer their charging stations to the public. This is already happening – owners who opt to do this list their stations on Plugshare.com and owners who are registered on this site can access the information.

SB438 may encourage others to provide access to their charging stations and is worth considering. Thanks to BIEVA Advisor Russell Ruderman for co-sponsoring this bill.

Here are some of the our private charging locations (source: Plugshare.com).