Answering EV-owners request, Seattle City Light will install chargers giving drivers without off-street parking a way to charge.
Seattle City Light (for the city of Seattle) is offering to install the Level 2 curbside stations at no cost to residents and property owners. The charging stations will be owned, operated, and maintained by Seattle City Light. If successful, programs like this could help answer one of many issues for urban EV owners. Simply put: they need more charging options.
You can see the official page (here).
If you’ve ever lived in an urban environment, you know that a vast majority of apartments, and many homes (especially older ones) lack the resources to give residents charging access. It’s not like these residents can drop an extension cord down several stories to their electric car. Many dwellings do not have parking, much less a place to plug in.
City Light will select charger locations through an opt-in process. Residents can request a charger in front of their homes, if the location meets the program requirements.
Seattle City Light
This is how it will work:
This service will install a public Level 2 EV charging station (see above photo) next to the curb in residential neighborhoods in Seattle. Seattle City Light will install, own, operate and maintain the EV chargers. Because these chargers are public, anyone who drives an EV will be able to park on the street next to the charger and charge their vehicle. The chargers will be available on a first-come, first-served basis and cannot be reserved.
The Level 2 EV chargers installed under this program will provide up to 9.6 kilowatts (kW). The infrastructure can provide a typical EV with over 30 miles of range per hour of charge time. Level 2 EV chargers are frequently used for multiple hours at a time, such as when a car is parked overnight at home or while the driver is at work.
Seattle City Light
There are other cities with programs similar to what Seattle City Light is undertaking; however, Seattle is a very large city, and it may prove to be a model for other large cities. Property owners, (not renters), can make requests for these chargers. These property must either be, or will-be an EV owner to qualify.
EV-owners must pay a per kilowatt-hour (kWh) fee to use the chargers. Currently, it costs $0.20 per kWh using Seattle City Light Level II chargers. That fee is about on par for public Level II chargers in many states.
I suspect we will see more programs like this pop up around the nation soon.
