Grants totaling nearly $170,000 will support energy infrastructure initiatives in northern Illinois
Thanks to collaboration between ComEd and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus (MMC), 21 winners of the 2023 Powering Safe Communities grant program will take home a combined $169,500 in funds to help various public safety and electric vehicle adoption initiatives.
Villages, fire and police departments, and cities from across northern Illinois will share these funds. Of these, seven participants were awarded their shares to support transportation electrification, as with the first public EV charging station deployments for Polo and Lisle, Illinois’ downtown areas.
“The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus is thrilled to once again partner with ComEd to provide funding that helps create safe communities while simultaneously preparing our region with the infrastructure necessary for an electrified future,” Neil James, executive director at MMCm said. “We are proud to help our local governments achieve their sustainability, safety and infrastructure goals.”
This year marked the ninth year of the Powering Safe Communities program. In total, it has awarded 178 grants since its founding, providing $1.8 million for communities in northern Illinois since 2015. In addition to the recent focus on electric vehicles, funds have also been used to replace outdated equipment and purchase solar powered traffic signs.
“ComEd is proud to work with the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus to support community-led plans to promote the adoption of EVs and other clean energy technologies that will enhance air quality throughout the region,” Louie Binswanger, senior vice president of government, regulatory and external affairs at ComEd, said. “With the clean energy transition underway in Illinois, ComEd’s partnership with cities and towns is critical to ensuring all residents have an opportunity to unlock the benefits of clean energy and the jobs and economic opportunity that come with it.”
Illinois currently seeks to put 1 million EVs on its roads by 2030. The wider deployment of vehicle chargers makes this possible. In addition, ComEd has also provided resources such as its online EV Toolkit to provide customers with information on rebates and incentives, installation of home charging or finding free public charging, savings calculators and more. Also in conjunction with the MMC, it previously launched the EV Readiness Program, meant to aid local governments in developing policies and practices for the integration of EVs and EV charging programs.
