Anson celebrates new electric charging station

Lauren Monica, Richmond County Daily Journal, Rockingham, N.C.
·2 min read

Dec. 1—WADESBORO — Anson County has received a new electric charging station for local residents and travelers on their way to Charlotte or the beach, located at the Government Annex Building.

A ribbon cutting was held on Thursday, November 30, with Director of Parks and Recreation Wendell Small introducing the station.

Also on hand to celebrate Anson's environmental step forward were employees from Parks and Recreation, and Centralina, along with state and county officials. Small introduced the project, explaining how the idea came to fruition and answering any questions posed by attendees.

"This project came about when we purchased this building from Pee Dee Electric. When they left, they took their electric charging station with them, telling the Board of Commissioners about a grant from the state that we could apply for," began Small.

Anson County's Parks and Recreation Department then began working with Environmental Program Consultant Dave Willis, to determine eligibility requirements and proceed with applying for the grant.

After reaching out to Centralina for assistance, employees like Megan Upchurch, mostly underwrote the application, with Small and Holly Berry [Finance Director] putting in the information obtained from Centralina and conducting a final edit before submitting the application.

"About November of last year we got confirmation that we were awarded the grant. We started the process of ordering the electric charging station, went through the bid process, and awarded the contract to LilyPad EV, which is a company that works with ChargePoint. They installed it back in June-July, and we opened up to the public in August. Since then we have averaged about five users a month and they charge two times a month," announced Small.

"Is there a website, app, or notation on GPS alerting travelers to the charging station?" asked interim Chamber of Commerce President, Ashley Scarborough.

"There are two websites or apps, one is through ChargePoint for their customers, and the other is Plugshare, which is a free service. A lot of electric vehicle drivers have both apps so they can see what is available to them," answered Small.