EV OWNERS will no longer be able to use free charging while parked in two main car parks as more EVs are registered.
City lawmakers plan to impose an “overstay fee” that will charge an additional 40 cents per minute if the vehicle is not removed from the charger.
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The city of Gig Harbor, Washington, announced that its two large ChargePoint EV charging stations, one in the Maritime Pier parking lot and the other in the Finholm View Climb parking lot, will no longer be free starting in May.
The city’s chargers will then cost drivers $0.25 per kW, which would cost an average of $18 per charging session depending on the vehicle, the city said. News Tribune.
In addition to a cost per kW used, an excess permanence fee would be imposed on electric vehicle owners who do not move their vehicles after the battery is charged.
Drivers would receive a notification via an app that would alert them to the completion of the charge.
Read more about electric vehicle charging
If the vehicle is not moved within 15 minutes of notification, the owner’s account will be charged $0.40 per minute.
The stations, initially installed in 2017, cost the city $5,500 a year in billing costs.
Jeff Langhelm, the city’s Director of Public Works, told the outlet that many cities began charging electric vehicle owners shortly after the stations were built.
However, he decided to continue charging for free to attract more electric vehicle owners to the city center and encourage them to shop while they wait for their cars to finish charging.
Now that more residents are buying and charging EVs, it’s time to recoup some of the city’s expenses.
“Right now, if you use either of the city’s two public chargers and plug it in, you will be charged $0 for that service,” Gig Harbor associate engineer Chloe Wiser said during a council meeting.
“The team believes it’s time to start charging a fee for this.”
Based on ChargePoint rates from other nearby cities, such as Seattle’s $0.21 per kW or Bellingham’s $0.25, Gig Harbor is likely to be close to this range.
Revenue collected at public charging stations would go back to the city, Wiser said.
“It would be our intention to use any fee revenue to purchase additional electric vehicle charging stations,” she said during the meeting.
Finding an EV Charger
Finding a public charger for your electric vehicle doesn’t have to be difficult.
Many modern electric vehicles have their own manufacturer-specific connected services technology that can locate compatible chargers.
With more automakers gaining access to Tesla supercharging network with a NACS charging port, it can be even easier due to the vastness of the network.
According to an article by JD PowerAdditional ways to locate functional and available chargers can be obtained with Connect Americathe PlugShare app for iOS and Android or the Department of Energy’s Office of Alternative Fuels Data Center.
Electrify America It is EVgo provide the most accurate billing data, the site said, as they frequently update data over the air.
Over time, she indicated the revenue could be used to build more stations in Gig Harbor.
“It is clear that we need to expand the network,” she continued.
Currently, the city of Gig Harbor offers EV charging $1.00 per hour for up to four hours, increasing to $2.00 per hour after four hours.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
