Council proposes six-month moratorium on battery storage and discusses missed EV-charger grant opportunity

Jake Dishaw, Deputy Commissioner of Code Enforcement and Zoning, presented a proposed six‑month citywide moratorium on battery energy storage systems (BESS) while staff and a working group develop local regulatory standards. Dishaw said the working group is internal city staff with plans to broaden outreach to utilities and outside partners (for example, National Grid) and that some councilors may be invited to participate.

Separately, councilors discussed a missed opportunity to secure EV-charger funding this round because the city could not complete an RFP within the grant deadline. Staff said one vendor identified could have done the full scope (application, installation, maintenance) free of charge but an RFP process could not be completed in time; staff estimated a future match requirement of roughly $170,000 for a second grant option and said they are exploring strategies to be RFP-ready for future announcements.

Councilors recommended including alternatives (for example, saline batteries) in the BESS review and asked staff to include outside stakeholders in outreach. No formal moratorium ordinance was adopted during the study session.