BGE to secure 100 EVs for Lyft drivers, install 17 fast chargers in Baltimore

Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) is working with the Mid-Atlantic Electrification Partnership to secure 100 Lyft rideshare electric vehicles and install 17 high-speed 150kW direct-current fast chargers in the Baltimore area by the end of this year.

Three 150kW fast chargers, along with two new 7.2kW dual-port level two chargers, were unveiled during an event this week at Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore. Through its EVsmart program, BGE has already installed 328 of the 500 public EV chargers it plans to deploy by the end of 2025.

Among those in attendance with BGE officials were Maryland Secretary of the Environment Serena McIlwain, Executive Director Gabe Klein from the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, Maryland State Senator Cory McCray, and other federal, state, and local officials.

“It is partnerships like these that are going to be critical to our ability to successfully decarbonize the transportation sector in BGE’s service territory,” BGE President and CEO Carim Khouzami said. “Through a shared commitment to promoting equitable EV adoption, BGE and our partners are leaning in to help Maryland reach its ambitious EV and net-zero emissions goals.”

The Mid-Atlantic Electrification Partnership is a $14.6 million U.S. DOE-funded project designed to create a regional EV ecosystem in Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia, and West Virginia.

“We’re celebrating growth, we’re celebrating infrastructure, and we’re celebrating progress on the journey of electrifying Maryland,” McIlwain said. “When industry and government work together in partnership it allows us to move even quicker to meet our state’s climate goals and build an EV foundation here in Maryland. We are sending a message that we are ready for this transition and investing in it every single day.”

The rideshare vehicles, which are all Hyundai Kona EVs, will be available for Lyft drivers to rent from Lyft’s Flex Drive facility in Glen Burnie. The first 25 of the 100 vehicles arrived last year and they have already provided more than 1 million miles of rides.

Rentable rideshare vehicles allow current Lyft drivers to opt for a zero-emission vehicle instead of their gas car and give prospective Lyft drivers who don’t own a vehicle the opportunity to drive for Lyft without buying a car.