Portland drivers hunting for a place to plug in are getting some new options on their own blocks. Portland General Electric says it is installing electric vehicle chargers directly on utility poles in neighborhoods across the city, bringing a new charging option to the curb.
The curbside chargers are part of PGE's neighborhood EV charging program, according to Portland General Electric, which says the effort is meant to make charging more accessible for everyone without drivers needing a driveway or garage outlet. The Portland Bureau of Transportation is also involved in the city's right-of-way EV charging policy.
Portland curbside charging locations include NE Glisan Street and an address on N Simpson Street. The utility says it has already partnered with cities across its service territory and installed dozens of charging stations on its poles.
What Drivers Will Pay to Plug In
PGE's pricing for the neighborhood chargers runs $0.12 per kWh, with an additional peak-time fee of $0.28 per kWh tacked on during weekday afternoons and evenings from 5 to 9 p.m., the company's page states. Drivers get a 10-minute grace period after a charging session ends before an idle fee of $0.10 per minute kicks in, though sessions that begin between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. are exempt from that idle charge, PGE says.
PBOT describes the chargers as made possible by the city's Electric Vehicle in the Right-of-Way policy, which the bureau says aims to provide convenient, reliable, and affordable EV charging to all Portlanders. A separate city code governing these installations, Portland's municipal rules, designates the on-street parking spaces next to installed chargers as EV Charging Zones, where only actively charging vehicles are permitted to park.
Finding a Spot and Weighing In
PBOT offers a map survey through which residents can suggest where additional chargers should go next. That kind of neighborhood-level planning echoes a broader city effort: a Portland.gov item has described PBOT working with utility partners including PGE and Pacific Power to address uneven distribution of public chargers across the city by adding utility-pole units in underserved areas, though the specific scope and timing of that broader effort are separate from the Glisan Street and North Portland sites PGE has listed.
For now, the rollout gives Portland drivers without home charging access a growing patchwork of curbside options, from inner Northeast Portland to several blocks north of Lombard Street. More poles may light up near other blocks as the network expands.
