Northeast Power commissions EV charging station study

HANNIBAL, Mo. — Northeast Missouri Electric Power Cooperative recently retained Growth Services Group, a national market research consulting firm, to conduct an electric vehicle charging station study for the eight member cooperatives in Northeast Power’s service territory.

The market assessment reviewed data related to providing access to rural EV charging stations for the Northeast Power service territory. Data will lead to the creation of new strategies for a sustainable long-term initiative to work with stakeholders to place EV charging stations throughout the Northeast Power service territory.

In a press release, Growth Services Group CEO Corey Mehaffy said, “GSG believes Northeast Power, and its member cooperatives, are uniquely positioned to provide this service in rural areas.”

In phase one of the study, GSG identified the service territories and numbers of members in each of the eight cooperatives served by Northeast Power. GSG then pulled data for traffic counts/commuting patterns to include a 150-mile radius of the Northeast Power service territory. GSG analyzed the data to determine the highest traffic counts, amenities and top sites for placement of EV charging stations.

“The primary goal of this assessment was to provide innovative, logical and strategic recommendations that the organization can utilize in making key decisions for targeted placement of EV charging stations in the service territory,” Mehaffy said. “The GSG team is committed to providing the organization with actionable strategies for implementation based on the current trends and assets in the region.”

GSG identified existing charging stations located within a 150-mile radius of the eight cooperative service territories. GSG further identified locations for the charging stations to be positioned that offer additional amenities for people while charging vehicles. When possible, the criteria focused on being located near other amenities like hospitality, health care, tourist/event attractions or higher educational facilities.

GSG delivered one master report for the entire Northeast Power service territory to include study findings and an executive summary. The report includes recommendations on at least one potential location within each of the eight cooperative service territories. The report also includes recommendations on potential co-located or nearby offerings.

Michael Scheib, CEO/general manager of Tri-County Electric Cooperative added, “The secret of success is being ready when opportunity comes. The data that GSG has collected and put together for Northeast Power will allow its distribution cooperatives to strategically place charging stations that will benefit our memberships and beyond.”

Northeast Power’s mission is to power its members with safe, reliable, affordable electricity and value-added services. To learn more about the organization, visit https://northeast-power.coop/

Growth Services Group is a national workforce intelligence research and consulting firm in Hannibal. Since its inception in 1994, GSG has conducted consulting and research projects for hundreds of clients. To learn more about the organization, visit https://www.growthservicesgroup.com/