Plug-In NCW Goes to Olympia

This Thursday Oct. 22, Plug-In President Ron Johnson-Rodriguez, Director Gary Taylor and haL2 Project Manager Jack Anderson will be in the state capital to address the Joint Transportation Committee (JTC). The JTC was created during the 2005 Legislative Session with the purpose of reviewing, researching and informing policymakers and legislators on transportation programs. Plug-In NCW will be on the JTC Agenda as "EV Tourism at Work." The committee members are interested in hearing how EV tourists have been attracted to North Central Washington.

Our answer is really pretty simple: Provide charging opportunities and EV drivers will seek them out. The railroad analogy is appropriate. Seattle was just a lumber supplier to San Francisco until 1893 when the Great Northern Railway announced Seattle as its western terminus. C. T. Conover, veteran Puget Sound historian, writes "Nothing that had happened before had meant so much to Seattle -- it was a shot in the arm without precedent. Seattle went marching on by leaps and bounds." It is our proposition that strategically-placed Level 3 charging opportunities will result in additional Level 2 stations being placed by local businesses and organizations. EV tourism will develop quickly when there is an abundance of charging opportunities.

We will provide a full report on the presentation to the JTC following Thursday's visit to Olympia.