Celebrating Drive Electric Month with Silver Charging Smart Status

Arlington County is “charged up” for National Drive Electric Month, boosted by several advances in Electric Vehicle (EV) readiness for residents. 

The County received Silver designation from the national Charging Smart program last month for adopting policies that help the expansion of EV infrastructure. Arlington staff worked with Charging Smart's no-cost technical assistance team to increase local knowledge of EV infrastructure for the benefit of economic development and clean energy goals in the County’s Carbon Neutral Transportation Master Plan (CNTMP) and Community Energy Plan (CEP).  

These priorities include:  

• Moving more people around Arlington with fewer greenhouse gas emissions (CEP, Goal 4) 
• Supporting an array of EV charging options throughout the County (CNTMP, Goal 2) 
• Supporting phased decarbonization of the County and Arlington Transit (ART) fleet (CNTMP, Goal 3)  

To achieve Charging Smart Silver status, Arlington has adopted zoning to support installation of EV chargers in parking lots throughout the County. Additionally, Arlington continues to replace aging fleet vehicles with electric models. Such action makes the transition to electric easier and more affordable.  

"We are proud to be recognized again for advancing EV readiness for our residents while simultaneously making notable strides toward our climate and carbon neutral CNTMP goals,” says Matt de Feranti, chair of the Arlington County Board. 

National Drive Electric Month, a nationwide celebration to raise awareness of the many benefits of all-electric and plug-in hybrid cars, trucks, motorcycles, and more, runs from Sep. 11-Oct 12, 2026. 

Charging Smart, part of the Energy Ready suite of programs, is led by partners including the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), with local coordination assistance from Virginia Clean Cities, all funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office.  

Local governments achieve Charging Smart designation by meeting established criteria based on national best practices for building EV-friendly communities. 

Along with Charging Smart Silver designation, Arlington has installed updated signage at facility parking lots with County-supplied EV charging stations. The County now has 51 Level 2 charging ports at nine locations. Level 2 is the same type of charger commonly found at shopping centers and workplaces. 

County charging spaces are reserved for vehicles needing to be charged. A dwell fee applies to EVs that remain parked after charging is completed. Vehicles parked but not charging in such spaces may be ticketed. Citizens can request parking enforcement for suspected violations by calling 703-558-2222.

View County-owned charging locations and costs on the County’s  Public EV Charging website.