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Mar 05, 2024

Charging ahead

Aug 4, 2023 Garrett Neese/Daily Mining GazetteRepresentatives from the City of Hancock, Upper Peninsula Power Co., and other groups cut a ribbon at the site of Hancock’s first electric vehicle charger

Aug 4, 2023

Garrett Neese/Daily Mining GazetteRepresentatives from the City of Hancock, Upper Peninsula Power Co., and other groups cut a ribbon at the site of Hancock’s first electric vehicle charger Thursday.

HANCOCK — Hancock celebrated a new resource for electric vehicle drivers living in or stopping by the Copper Country.

The city held a ribbon-cutting Thursday for its new electric vehicle charger, located in the Downtown Development Authority parking lot on Franklin and Tezcuco streets.

Two years in the making, the project had been the brainchild of the late Deb Mann, said Community Development Manager Todd Gast.

“It’s a really awesome part of infrastructure to have in the City of Hancock, and we hope to have more in the coming years,” he said.

The Level 3 charger is capable of fully charging a single vehicle in 30 minutes. It also has a dual port allowing it to charge two vehicles simultaneously, though not at peak speed.

“Those are newer to the system and something that our communities are really looking to add on so that people can have the most efficient charging time,” said Morgan Impola, engineering manager with Upper Peninsula Power Co.

It’s the third installation in the Upper Peninsula Power Co. service area, following ones in Houghton and Copper Harbor, Impola said.

The downtown location is in a convenient place for people to charge their vehicles while shopping in Hancock. As the last one on the north side of the Portage Lake Lift Bridge before the Keweenaw, it’s also helpful for people looking to charge their vehicles during a longer trip. Weather conditions can also affect how many miles a driver can get on a charge, making intermediate stations a plus.

“it’s really helpful to have something that you’re confident you can get a charge from here, and shouldn’t have to worry about at least getting to Copper Harbor where the next charger would be,” Impola said.

Resident Roxanne King, who owns an electric vehicle, said having a local charger will come in handy.

“Especially in the winter, you don’t get that much range, and so it might very well be necessary to charge it up at home, and come into town, where you need to charge it again,” she said.

UPPCO is monitoring the meter to keep an eye on how many times it’s used, and what usage looks like at its peak, Impola said. That helps them decide what size equipment they need on the pole.

“It’s been getting used,” he said. “I don’t know how many times a week or a day, but we can see it creeping up. And we can see that our equipment’s properly sized and it seems like everyone’s been happy with the sizing of our equipment, and it’s been charging things well.”

UPPCO’s responding to more requests from communities or private charters. That starts a process of designers, engineers and account executives to work with the community to make sure it’s built correctly and in a timely manner, Impola said.

Nearly 300,000 electric vehicles were sold in the second quarter of 2023, a new high. Recent polling by the Pew Research Group showed environmental concerns (72%) and saving money on gas (70%) as the main reasons why consumers might consider them.

The Michigan state average on gas is at its highest rate in months at $3.67 per gallon, AAA said earlier this month. The Marquette metro area had the highest number of those tracked at $3.78 per gallon. In an Associated Press story, analysts said high oil prices and heat-related refinery slowdowns were some factors in the increase.

DDA member John Diebel said the changeover to electric vehicles has accelerated the time frame.

“As a member of the DDA, I’m glad we got this going and make it friendly to people to EVs as they become more a part of everyday life,” Diebel said.

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