(The Center Square) – Starting next year, building contractors in Michigan would have to install plugs for electric vehicle charging stations at new residential buildings if a bill before the Committee on Energy, Communications, and Technology in the House of Representatives becomes law.
Introduced by state Rep. Phil Skaggs, D-East Grand Rapids, House Bill 6180 would change construction codes to mandate that single-family dwellings with a dedicated parking space built on or after Jan. 1 must have a minimum of six kilowatts of power capacity available to that space for electric vehicle charging.
New multifamily dwellings, such as apartments, must have a minimum of 19 kilowatts of power capacity available for every five parking spaces for electric vehicle charging.
The cost to prewire buildings for electric vehicle charging is generally less expensive than retrofitting electric vehicle charging infrastructure into an already constructed building, which requires breaking and repairing walls and upgrading existing service panels. But mandating electric vehicle charging capacity for new homes would regardless raise the cost of housing construction in Michigan.
Building contractors and organizations have already raised concerns about utility-related requirements delaying construction and causing housing costs to increase.
Home Builders Association of Michigan CEO Bob Filka said in October that connecting power to homes is currently a particularly arduous process that has exacerbated the state’s housing crisis.
“If we are going to meet the governor’s housing and economic growth goals in our state, we need all the entities that touch and impact the residential building industry to row in the same direction,” Filka said. “Too many still have an approach that stymies housing development at a time when we need it most.”
The Center Square was unsuccessful getting comment from the Home Builders Association of Michigan.
