As EVs Become More Popular, Home Renters Face a Charging Dilemma

The transition to electric vehicles is underway for homeowners who can power up in their own garage — but for millions of renters, access to charging remains a significant barrier. Now, cities across the U.S. are working on innovative public charging solutions as drivers string power cords across sidewalks, erect private charging stations on city right-of-ways, and queue at public facilities.

Renters Are Feeling the Squeeze

Renters like Stephanie Terrell of Portland, Oregon, who bought a used Nissan Leaf, quickly discovered the obstacles. Without a place to plug in overnight and with public chargers often occupied, she nearly ran out of power on the freeway when a charging station she was counting on was busy. Another renter, Rebecca DeWhitt, strings an extension cord from her rental home's front door outlet to her Hyundai Kona in the driveway — a process that takes up to two days to fully charge the vehicle off a standard 120-volt outlet.

The Scale of the Challenge

Nationwide, there are approximately 120,000 public charging ports at Level 2 or above, serving nearly 1.5 million registered electric vehicles — a ratio of just over one charger per 12 cars. A Pacific Northwest National Laboratory forecast projects nearly 19 million EVs on the road by 2030, requiring an additional 9.6 million charging stations to keep pace.

In Los Angeles, nearly a quarter of all new vehicles registered in a recent month were plug-ins. The city estimates it must expand its electrical distribution capacity by 25–50% over the next two decades, with roughly two-thirds of that increase driven by EVs.

Cities Are Getting Creative

Los Angeles has installed over 500 pole-mounted EV chargers — 450 on street lights and 50 on power poles — and plans to add 200 more per year. Similar programs are being considered from New York to Charlotte to Kansas City. Portland is weighing a proposal to require 50% of parking spaces in most new apartment complexes to have electrical conduit installed, with all spaces EV-ready in smaller buildings.

London offers a model worth studying — the city has 4,000 public chargers mounted on street lights at roughly one-third the cost of sidewalk-wired charging stations. The main challenge for many U.S. cities is that street lights run on 120 volts rather than the 240 volts better suited to EV charging. A mix of solutions — from zoning changes to workplace fast-charging incentives — will be required.

Originally published by NPR via The Associated Press.