Council to Consider Electric Vehicle Charging Station

The Encinitas City Council will consider an agreement to host a charging site for electric vehicles during its Oct. 12 meeting. 

The San Diego area is one of 18 in the United States that is part of The EV Project, a pilot program that aims to have about 14,000 charging stations throughout the country to promote the use of electric and electric hybrid cars, according to city staff reports.

Encinitas’ participation in the public/private project would consist of installing charging units at an easily accessible site, most likely the southwest corner of Vulcan Avenue and E Street; the city leases this site from the North County Transit District, which means that agency will need to approve the project. Wednesday night City Council will consider whether or not to enter an agreement with Electronic Transportation Engineering Corp (ECOtality), which would manage the project site. 

The program also calls for about $10,000 to be used from the city’s general fund to pay for installation costs beyond The EV Project’s financial incentives, which are earmarked at $2,250 per charging unit.

The additional electricity use would be an ongoing cost; no estimates were given for that cost, but the staff reports say some revenue could be gained from future fees and advertising revenue.

The council meeting starts at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 505 S. Vulcan Avenue.

Like this article? Like us on Facebook, too. Or follow us on Twitter.