As a member of Randolph EMC, you may be familiar with our Brighter Future vision of serving this community by providing safe and reliable access to affordable, increasingly sustainable energy. As we work toward this vision, it is critical that we appropriately stay ahead of trends to ensure we meet the emerging power needs of our member-consumers.

A significant emerging trend across the nation is consumer adoption of electric vehicles. In 2020, a survey provided exclusively to members of electric cooperatives across the nation showed that 1 in 6 co-op members are likely to consider an electric vehicle as their next car. Although that may not seem like a critical mass, our engineers are planning for this increased electric demand to ensure continued reliability. And just as importantly, we’re preparing to provide solutions to our members making the switch.

Because we know interest in these vehicles is on an upward trajectory, we are making investments now to build public charging stations in our local community. Doing so will facilitate the electric vehicle experience for drivers locally while making sure our region remains open for tourism, commerce, and economic development opportunities.

Randolph EMC currently has four Level 2 Charging Stations installed at the N.C. Zoo and one DC Fast Charger at the McDonald’s near Randolph Mall in Asheboro. Soon, we will install a DC Fast Charging Station in Montgomery County near Lake Tillery, as well.

If charging is managed appropriately, electric vehicles can significantly benefit the electric grid in ways that will not impact reliability and affordability of electricity. When charged at night, EVs add load to the grid when it is historically most underused. Power is the most expensive at peak demand hours, like late afternoon in the summer and early morning in the winter. Nighttime EV charging spreads the load across the 24 hour-day cycle and helps to flatten the expensive, peak demand times. This is an area we will continue to research.

We hope that you join us in celebrating National Drive Electric Week September 25–October 3 this year. Follow Randolph EMC on social media, where we will share lots of information about electric vehicles and Drive Electric events happening locally. In the meantime, you can learn more at NCDriveElectric.com.