A proposal to require some Big Island gas stations to install electric vehicle charging stations was roundly rejected Tuesday after criticism from gas station owners.
At a meeting of the Hawaii County Council’s Policy Committee on Climate Resilience and Regenerative Agriculture, Kona Councilman Holeka Inaba presented a bill that would require any new gas station be built with an equivalent number of gas pumps and charging stations.
The bill also would require existing stations to install a new charging station for every new pump installed.
Inaba said the measure was an effort to address the county’s limited electric vehicle infrastructure, which he said is a barrier for more widespread adoption of EVs on the island.
However, Inaba withdrew the bill at the end of the meeting after gas station owners and fellow council members questioned whether it accurately reflected electric vehicle users’ behavior.
“I have never had a customer ask us to install an electric vehicle charging station,” said Matthew Gustavson, vice president of operations for Goose’s Edge, which operates several gas stations around the state, including one in Kona. “Over the last several years, we have seen some competitors install these charging stations, and we continue to drive by and never see anyone using them. In fact, recently I traveled to Oahu and have seen some of the stations that had been installed have now been removed.”
Inaba’s fellow council members welcomed the intention of the bill, agreeing that the county should encourage the proliferation of cleaner transportation, but agreed that in practice the measure would not be particularly helpful.
Puna Councilman Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder, who said he owns an electric vehicle, reflected that a gas station is simply not an ideal place to charge a car.
“If I’m shopping, or at the park, somewhere I’ll be parked for longer where it will be worth it to charge, that’s when I charge,” Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder said, agreeing with Gustavson that gas stations are not conducive to the prolonged parking necessary to charge a typical EV — the measure only required that stations install “level 2” charging stations, which can take hours to charge a car to full.
Hilo Councilwoman Sue Lee Loy called the measure “not ready for prime time,” noting the county passed a bill last year that requires all new parking lots of a certain size to install charging stations, which she said is better-suited for EV users’ needs.
Inaba said he had brought the bill forward to start the conversation with his colleagues, adding that even after withdrawing the bill, he may bring back certain aspects of it in future measures.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.