Seattle City Light, the public utility providing electricity to the Seattle, WA city and region, is launching a service that will install public Level 2 electric vehicle (EV) chargers at curbside locations throughout the city. These chargers will allow residents who do not have off-street parking to conveniently charge their EVs near their homes. The new pilot program is part of the city’s goal to reduce transportation emissions 83% by the year 2030.
Residents living within city limits can request one of 30 curbside charging stations be installed near their home if they own an EV or plan to purchase one within the next year. Installation requests will be evaluated based on predefined criteria and the utility will survey neighboring property owners for each proposed location. City Light will not install the charging station if more than 50% of the neighboring property owners are opposed.
The Level 2 EV chargers will be installed on utility poles or standalone pedestals and will provide up to 9.6 kilowatts (kW), which can provide a typical EV with over 30 miles of range per hour of charge time. Seattle City Light will install, own, operate and maintain the EV chargers at no cost. EV drivers will pay a per kilowatt-hour (kWh) fee to use the chargers. Currently, the fee for Seattle City Light-operated Level 2 EV chargers is $0.20 per kWh. The fees are designed to pay for the electricity, operations, maintenance, and repair costs while offsetting the initial purchase and installation costs. The chargers will be available to any EV driver on a first-come, first-served basis and cannot be reserved.