Bill SB0040, recently passed by both houses of the Illinois legislature, and if signed by Governor Pritzker, could impact your project once it is enacted. This bill updates and adds State requirements for parking areas in residential developments to allow for the future installation of electric vehicle charging stations.
Large developments (single residential buildings with 5 or more units) will be required to have 100% of their parking spaces be EV-Capable, which is defined as having the electrical panel capacity as well as conduit installed to support the future installation of an EV charging station. The installation of the actual charging and wiring infrastructure is not required at the time of construction.
The specific requirements set in the bill are that each EV-capable space must be provided with a continuous raceway or cable assembly installed between an enclosure or outlet located within 3 feet of the EV-capable space and a suitable panelboard or other onsite electrical distribution equipment. There is no requirement, however, that wire or cable be run between the panel and the outlet. The electrical distribution equipment that the raceway or cable assembly connects to must have dedicated space and spare electrical capacity for a 2-pole circuit breaker or set of fuses. The reserved capacity shall not be less than 40A 208/240V for each EV-capable space unless EV-capable spaces will be controlled by an energy management system providing load management in accordance with NFPA 70. The electrical enclosure or outlet and the electrical distribution equipment directory shall be marked "For future electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE)."
Note that compliance with this bill is based on the permit issuance date, rather than the permit application date, so this State requirement will apply to all permits currently undergoing the permit review process that do not have their permit Issued in advance of the effective date.
Affordable housing projects (housing projects subsidized/funded by the federal or State government or at least 20% of the dwelling units are subject to covenants/restrictions that require dwelling units to be sold/rented at prices that preserve them as affordable housing for a period of at least 10 years) are required to meet a different timeline for compliance.
- Permits issued within 24 months after the effective date must have 40% of the parking be EV Capable
- Permits issued within 5 years of the effective date must have 50% of the parking be EV Capable
- Permits issued within 10 years of the effective date must have 70% of the parking be EV Capable
There are additional requirements for condominiums and landlords/tenants, which require that occupants are permitted to install charging systems in deeded or rented spaces, at the owners' or tenants' expense.
If you have any questions about the scope of the proposed law, or how it could impact your project, please feel free to contact us.