Charging your Personal Vehicle
The University of Southern Maine provides electric vehicle (EV) charging on campus, as one of many strategies, to help achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by the year 2040.
The new charging stations in the new parking garage (located by Glickman and Wishcamper) in Portland are operational and available for charging. All free stations on the Portland campus are permanently closed.
Fifty-eight level-2 charging plugs are available throughout the parking garage and are open to anyone with a valid permit to park in the garage. All plugs require payment and only vehicles plugged in may be parked in the designated EV charging spaces. There is no designated time limit for parking in these spaces, as long as the vehicle is plugged in. If it is not plugged in, then a citation will be issued.
The price for charging and for being plugged in is currently $1.25 per hour during the day (8 am till 5 pm) and $1.00 per hour during the night (5 pm till 8 am). Please also note that independent of the University, Blink charges $20 upfront in order to ensure there is sufficient balance on your account to pay for forthcoming charges (Questions about this $20 hold should be directed to Blink). These rates are subject to change, so please view this website or the Blink ap regularly. You can pay using either the Blink ap or the credit card swipe on the station. Whenever you are plugged in, you are being charged regardless of if you are drawing electricity. This is to incentivize turnover of the spaces after vehicles are fully charged, so that others may charge. Please note that before unplugging the charging cord from your vehicle, you must stop the session on your ap or the screen. If you don’t stop the session first, you may experience technical issues with your account.
The Gorham campus currently has one free, level-2 charging station. It is available to staff and faculty and is located in the Russell Hall lot. This space has a two-hour limit before a citation will be issued. Two level-3 chargers will soon be installed on the Gorham campus and will be open to anyone with a valid parking pass, including students, staff, faculty, and visitors. These stations will requirement payment to charge.
The Lewiston campus does not currently have any charging stations.
Only vehicles permitted or paying to be on campus may use the charging stations.
EV Charging Policy
For more details about the rules and regulations, please view the University’s EV charging policy here.
University’s Electric Fleet
The USM Facilities Management department operates several electric-powered bicycles toting trailers on campus, in an effort to get more gasoline trucks and vans off the road. These vehicles are used year-round by technicians.