Lodi electric vehicle charging stations to remain free

Oct 01 - Lodi News-Sentinel (CA)

Until more people start using the electric vehicle charging station in town, the city of Lodi will not charge a fee to plug into them.

Lodi Electric Utility Director Liz Kirkley presented payment options for the charging stations at the Lodi City Council shirtsleeve session on Tuesday morning.

As many as 15 people use the seven free electric vehicle charging stations in town on a consistent basis, Kirkley said, and the council decided it didn't make sense to pursue a payment option with so few people making use of the stations.

"I like the idea of posting donation signs at each station that say if you'd like to make a contribution to the city for use of the power provided to your vehicle, please do," Councilwoman JoAnne Mounce said. "But unless people are waiting in a line for these stations that go out the door, I don't think we should charge for (the stations)."

Donation signs were one of three payment options Kirkley presented to the council, along with a smartphone app payment method and a drop box similar to the one installed at Lodi Lake for parking.

While using a smartphone app as a payment method could generate $3,126 in annual revenue, Kirkley said, it would cost $4,200 to set up and install. In addition, a smartphone app would cost $504 a year to maintain, she said. Similarly, installing drop boxes would generate $2,400 in revenue, but it would cost $9,000 to install six around town.

It would only cost $175 to install donation signs at each charging site, Kirkley said, but it is unknown if that would generate any real revenue. She said, however, that two checks totaling $750 have been donated to the city for use of the charging stations.

The council said the cost to install a smartphone app or drop box wasn't worth the effort.

"We should just keep things as-is and bring this back later, say, in a couple of years," Councilman Alan Nakanishi said.

There are two charging stations at City Hall and one each at the city of Lodi Finance Department , Hutchins Street Square , the Lodi Public Library , the Lodi Animal Shelter and the Downtown Lodi Parking Garage .

Two charging stations, complete with payment systems, are being considered for installation at Reynolds Ranch , according to City Manager Steve Schwabauer . Charging stations with payment systems are also being considered at the Walmart Supercenter location at the corner of Lower Sacramento Road and Kettleman Lane , he said.

This is not the first time payment methods to use the charging stations have been discussed and subsequently rejected.

"Every time this is discussed, it's been said that it's just too expensive (to install a payment system)," Schwabauer said. "And each time, staff has scratched our heads trying to come up with some sort of solution."

Auburn -based Clipper Creek, Inc. installed the charging stations in 2013, and they were funded in part by the California Energy Commission's Reconnect California grant program.

The city has a contract with Reconnect California to operate maintain and operate the existing charging stations through 2019, Kirkley said. That means the city cannot simply replace the current units with those that have built-in payment systems until the contract expires.

"It's tough to see someone just pull up and charge their car for free," Mayor Phil Katzakian said. "But it's worth it to explore how we can recoup the costs."

Contact reporter Wes Bowers at wesb@lodinews.com .

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