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Join Orange and Rockland's EV Drive September 22-23. It’s Positively Electric!

  • Orange and Rockland Media Relations

  • Pearl River – September 18, 2023 -- 06:00 AM

Sit behind the wheel of the vehicles that everyone’s talking about and meet their owners for some straight talk with no-sales-pressure about what it’s like to own and operate an electric vehicle (EV) like the Rivian RIT, Ford F-150, Kia EV6 and the Tesla Model Y at Orange and Rockland's EV Ride event.

The drive takes place Friday, September 22 and Saturday, September 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Blue Hill Plaza, 501 Veterans’ Memorial Drive, Pearl River, NY 10965. The event will be located at “F Lot” in the parking area behind Blue Hill’s office buildings.

This year’s event also will feature a new 28-foot-long trailer that displays 12 commercial and residential charging stations for demonstration purposes. For a closer look at the overall event, see this video that was produced during last year’s Blue Hill EV event.

Since 2021, 100% of O&R’s new light-duty vehicle purchases are EV. The company expects to field a 100% electric light-duty fleet by 2035.

Orange & Rockland (O&R) President and CEO Robert Sanchez, who drives a hybrid car, said, “Here at O&R we’re committed to empowering our customers by giving them an opportunity to learn about EVs from actual EV owners. We’ve gotten great feedback from customers on this event: they love the cars, and they appreciate the candor of the owners discussing how life is more interesting driving an EV.”

According to O&R, approximately 10,500 customers across the company’s New York and New Jersey service areas own EVs, and that number continues to grow.

EV owners will tell you that if more chargers were available more drivers would adopt EV vehicles as their own. O&R has heard that plea and is supporting the development of the charging environment.

For example, O&R’s Power Ready Program (PRP) is providing incentives that can cover up to 100% of the EV charging stations’ installation costs (depending on eligibility criteria) for Level 2 or direct current fast charging stations at commercial facilities, multifamily buildings, or parking areas.

Chargers, which meet minimum program requirements, are eligible to recover up to 50% of the cost. Chargers, which are publicly accessible and have non-proprietary plugs, may receive up to 90% of the cost, and if located in a low- or moderate-income community are eligible for up to 100% of the cost. To get started, visit: oru.com/powerready/

In addition to the PowerReady Program, Orange & Rockland supports EV adoption through a number of other programs, including SmartCharge New York, which is a managed charging program that aims to reduce stress on the grid from EV charging. Drivers can earn unlimited cash incentives as a residential EV owner by charging at off-peak times in the service territory. This helps make service more reliable for everyone. https://scny.ev.energy.

About O&R

Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. (O&R), a wholly owned subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc., one of the nation’s largest investor-owned energy companies, is a regulated utility. O&R provides electric service to approximately 300,000 customers in southeastern New York State (where its franchise name is Orange & Rockland) and northern New Jersey (where it’s Rockland Electric Company) and natural gas service to approximately 130,000 customers in New York.