NFPA Meets on EV Charging at Gas Stations
The NFPA 30A Technical Committee met in St Louis this week to address public comments on the proposed revisions to the code. An entire day was devoted to addressing the proposed Chapter 15 dealing with EV Charging at a gas station. Based on comments received during the public comment period, several revisions were made to the original proposed chapter and a revised draft of the chapter was presented to the committee. Presentations were made to the committee by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) representing NACS, NATSO, and SIGMA; Shell, and Electrify America. A revised draft of the chapter was ultimately approved by the committee after several amendments were proposed and approved with several open issue deferred to a future meeting. Approval of two-thirds of the full NFPA 30A Technical Committee is still required.
While there were several changes made to address issues raised by EMA and others, the approved chapter retains a definition for the EV Charging Area that includes the EV charger and the EV while charging at the full extent of the output cable, requirements for an emergency shut-off, and requirements for controls to limit the ability of a spill to drain through or pool within the charging area. These issues were extensively debated, and the committee overwhelmingly defeated two attempts to limit the application of the classified (hazardous) area to the EV charger and related control equipment which would have allowed the EV and the charging cable to be within the classified (hazardous) area while charging. The committee took similar strong positions on the requirements for an emergency shut-off and controlling drainage and pooling in the charging area. While the committee voted to approve the revised chapter as amended, several issues raised with the section dealing with the classified (hazardous) areas (e.g., the setbacks from the dispensers, tanks, and tank vehicles) will be addressed at a subsequent meeting early next month and the proposed chapter amended as approved by the committee. This includes the classified (hazardous) areas associated with the tank vehicle while transferring fuel to USTs. EMA will be considering proposed amendments to further refine this and other provisions of this section. The final revised proposed chapter will be submitted to the full Technical Committee later this year for ballot.