An Ithaca property manager wants six Level 2 chargers in the back lot of an apartment building that already has a rooftop solar array. Two years ago the first question would have been how much of the service upgrade the utility make-ready program would cover. Today the answer for a new application under the NYSEG EV make-ready program is none. The design question is whether the building needs a service upgrade at all.
Under a New York Public Service Commission order issued March 23, 2026 in Case 18-E-0138, NYSEG and RG&E stopped accepting new EV make-ready applications after April 22, 2026. The program may reopen in the future for DC fast charger applications only. Utilities said they would continue to review completed applications submitted before the deadline. Central Hudson's page says Level 2 applications are no longer accepted and its DC fast charging program is paused.
What the NYSEG EV make-ready closure changes
Make-ready funding paid for a large part of the utility-side and customer-side infrastructure that gets power to a charger. Without it, a new Ithaca project pays the full cost of any new service, transformer, or long trench. That makes the electrical design the place where the budget is won or lost.
The two levers are the same ones good designers already used. Keep the charger load inside the service you have. If you cannot, size the upgrade to the managed load, not the nameplate load.
Load management is now the first sheet
New York's current Uniform Code references the 2023 National Electrical Code. In that edition, section 625.42 lets an energy management system set the load. Where an energy management system that follows section 750.30 provides load management of the EV supply equipment, the maximum equipment load on the service and feeder is the maximum load the system permits. Adjustable chargers with restricted-access settings can also be counted at their set rating.
For six Level 2 chargers on an existing service, that can be the difference between a new service and none. It only works if the drawings prove it:
- The setpoint. The maximum current the system allows, written on the one-line and the load calculation.
- The control method. Which chargers are managed, and what happens if the controller loses communication.
- The service calculation. Existing load, the managed EV load, and the margin left on the service.
- Labels. Field markings that tell the next electrician the feeder is sized to a managed load.
Solar and chargers on the same service
This building already has rooftop solar. The solar interconnection and the charger feeder now share a service and probably a panel. Two calculations have to agree on the same busbar. The solar backfeed rule and the EV load calculation should be on the same sheet, so an inspector does not approve each one separately and miss the sum.
Athol Energy prepares EV charging station design and solar drawings for installers in New York and New England. We do not install the chargers or sell the energy management system. We produce the one-line, the load calculation, and the plan the inspector signs. Our earlier posts on Hartford EV charger design on a shared service and Cranston EV charger and solar drawings walk through the same shared-service problem in Connecticut and Rhode Island.
What to send NYSEG and the code office
If the design avoids a service upgrade, the utility conversation may be short. If it does not, the request for a larger service should state the managed load, not the sum of nameplates. Keep the solar side clean too. The NYSEG interconnection application post covers the drawing details NYSEG reviewers look for. The EVCS and solar permit conflicts post covers what goes wrong when two contractors draw one panel.
Ithaca's code office will read the permit set. Put the code edition on the cover, show the energy management system as equipment with a cut sheet, and include the setpoint in the general notes. An inspector who has to ask how the load is limited will ask in the field.
Questions about EV chargers after make-ready
Is NYSEG accepting new EV make-ready applications?
No. Under the PSC order of March 23, 2026, NYSEG and RG&E stopped accepting new applications after April 22, 2026. The program may reopen in the future for DC fast chargers only.
Can an energy management system reduce the service size I need?
Under 2023 NEC section 625.42, where an energy management system that follows 750.30 manages EV supply equipment, the service and feeder load is the maximum load the system permits. The drawings have to show the setpoint.
What happens to applications submitted before the deadline?
The utilities said they would continue to review completed applications submitted before the applicable deadline.
If you have an EV project in Ithaca, Binghamton, or anywhere in NYSEG territory, send the panel schedule and the charger list first. New York solar and EV design from Athol Energy will show whether the service you have is enough. Contact us.