Erie, Colorado is a small city (pop. 40,183 as of 2024) with an outsized impact on transportation electrification: This Colorado community earned the first Charging Smart Bronze designation in the West, serving as an example to other local governments of the power of careful planning and outreach. Working with technical assistance provider Drive Clean Colorado and other communities in the first Charging Smart Colorado cohort, Erie has made strides in increasing access to electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.

Located just west of Interstate 25, Erie welcomes many people stopping along the North-South artery of the Northern Front Range. To serve the needs of both visitors and residents, the city has installed 24 public EV charging stations on municipal-owned land, and keeps the costs low to make them more accessible. “We do charge 15 cents a kilowatt hour, which is just barely over the cost of that energy itself, but we do that because we want to support this transition for our residents,” said Eryka Thorley, the Town of Erie’s Sustainability Manager. Erie’s sustainability team is pursuing public-private partnership opportunities with local businesses to further expand the city’s public charger network.

Procurement and Education

One critical aspect of Erie’s Charging Smart Bronze designation comes from the city’s EV-first fleet procurement policy, which directs staff to replace older, gas-powered vehicles with EVs where possible. Over time, Erie’s municipal fleet will be composed of more and more EVs. At first glance, this measure mostly seems to affect municipal employees, rather than the broader public, but it is powerful in two ways. First, converting the city’s fleet to EVs is one of the most direct and impactful ways that local governments participate in overall transportation electrification efforts and improve air quality. Second, having electric vehicles in the fleet and driving around town offers tangible evidence to residents and staff of the viability, utility, and overall experience of driving EVs. 

One of the first steps to creating the EV-first procurement policy involved speaking to municipal departments to address their needs and concerns. “Bringing staff along was essential,” said Thorley. “We did a number of engagement meetings, we asked a lot of questions, and… had a really thoughtful process of building drafts and then bringing the drafts back to the teams for their review and their feedback, making sure that the proposed policy really worked for them.” 

Not everyone was supportive of the policy initially. The sustainability team had extensive conversations with various departments, first identifying necessary exceptions and nuances to the EV-first policy. Hearing from representatives of other local governments who had undertaken EV fleet conversions helped address additional questions. Some concerns stemmed from Town staff simply being unfamiliar with EVs. To support staff comfort with EVs, the sustainability team adopted several measures, including discounted at-work EV charging stations for commuters, and general information sessions and webinars. But hearing about other people driving EVs is not the same as experiencing one yourself, so the sustainability team began hosting EV ride-and-drives for Town staff and residents. 

“When you get somebody behind the wheel of an EV and they see the acceleration, I’ve seen a lot of just really cool transformations. It’s like, ‘Oh, wow―this is fun’,” said Thorley. To date, the Erie sustainability team has hosted multiple ride-and-drives for staff and community members, with more to come, including one planned for a local dragstrip, which will take place in partnership with other local Front Range governments. 

Expanding the Impact

That spirit of collaboration with other city and county governments in the Denver area and beyond is helping Erie amplify its impact beyond the Town limits. As they participated in the inaugural Charging Smart Colorado Cohort of local governments, the Town of Erie was able to share best practices and lessons learned with other governments in the area, as well as to implement new ideas locally.

“We work with our fellow communities a lot. We talk to them a lot. We’re in constant communication with them; we bounce ideas off each other,” said Dylan King, Erie’s Sustainability and Water Conservation Specialist. With resources provided by Drive Clean Colorado, and with local governments big and small participating in the cohort, Erie could more effectively implement the EV readiness measures needed to earn Charging Smart designation.

It was this combination of peer learning, free resources and guidance, and a roadmap to success that drew Erie’s sustainability team to the Charging Smart program to begin with. Thorley and King had previously worked with Charging Smart’s partner program, SolSmart, to earn a Bronze designation for solar readiness in 2023. 

“I really believe in certification programs like Charging Smart, because I think there’s a lot of really positive work that comes out of the process of going through the evaluation,” said Thorley. “I also think that it’s a neat tool for trying to accomplish and communicate a goal throughout a municipality, and to say, ‘Look, we made this a priority. We’ve done this work to hit all of these markers that are established in this program, and we’ve been able to come out at this level of certification.’”

The work of Erie’s government staff continues to make the city even better prepared for renewable energy and transportation electrification, with the sustainability team planning to go further in the future. For now, though, Erie can celebrate its first-in-the-West Charging Smart status, and welcome I-25 travelers to recharge their EVs and explore this Front Range community.

Cities, counties, and regional organizations across the U.S. can achieve Charging Smart and/or SolSmart designations. To get started, contact us here and begin your own path toward a more resilient energy future!