Drivers to be charged $18 per stop for essential service after 7 years of being free – and it's extra if you 'overstay' | 2YJY87S | 2024-04-23 12:08:01
EV OWNERS will no longer be able to utilize free charging while parked in two major parking lots as more EVs are registered.
City lawmakers plan to impose an "overstay fee" that will charge an additional $0.40 per minute if the vehicle isn't moved from the charger.
The city of Gig Harbor, Washington announced that their two large EV ChargePoint charging stations, one in the Maritime Pier parking lot and the other in the Finholm View Climb lot, will no longer be free starting 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, reported the News Tribune.
In addition to a cost per kW used, an overstay fee would be imposed for EV owners who don't move their vehicles after the battery is charged.
Drivers would get a notification through an app that would alert them to the charge being complete.
If the vehicle isn't moved within 15 minutes of the notification, the owner's account will be charged $0.40 per minute.
The stations, initially installed in 2017, have cost the city $5,500 per year in charging costs.
Jeff Langhelm, the Public Works Director for the city, told the outlet that many cities started charging EV owners soon after stations were built.
However, he decided to keep charging free to draw in more EV owners to the downtown area to entice 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 you plug in, you will be charged $0 for that service," said Chloe Wiser, an associate engineer for Gig Harbor during a council meeting.
<!-- End of Brightcove Player --> "Staff believes it is time to start assessing a fee for that."
Based on ChargePoint rates of other cities nearby, like Seattle's $0.21 per kW or Bellingham's $0.25, it's likely that Gig Harbor's will be close to that range.
The revenue collected from the public charging stations would go back to the city, Wiser said.
"It would be our intention to use any fee revenue to purchase additional EV charging stations," she said during the meeting.
<p class="article__content--intro"> Finding a public charger for your electric vehicle doesn't have to be difficult. </p> </div> </div> In time, she indicated that the revenue could be used to build more stations in Gig Harbor.
"Clearly we have a need to expand the network," she continued.
Currently, the city of Gig Harbor offers EV charging for $1.00 per hour for up to four hours, with it rising to $2.00 per hour after four hours.
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