The Town of Chapel Hill announced it will begin charging a minor fee at its public electric vehicle charging stations next month, ending the free service of supply to EV drivers.

A release by the local government on Thursday said starting Monday, August 12, most of the town-owned stations will charge users 20 cents for each kilowatt hour, as well as processing fees. Additionally, a $1 hourly fee will be charged to users who do not move their vehicle within 30 minutes of it reaching full charge. According to an email sent to the town’s elected officials, Town Manager Chris Blue said the “dwell-time fee” is a common practice used to help turn over the charging ports and parking spots to other EV drivers.

The town said in its announcement to the community on Thursday the fees are being implemented to help cover the costs of the energy, vendor fees, and maintenance of the charging stations.

Presently, the local government owns and operates 40 charging stations — 36 of which have the technology to support charging the fees. Those are different from chargers owned by Duke Energy that are at three Chapel Hill locations, which are part of a utility pilot program by the electricity company. Duke Energy’s charging stations have a fee of 13.4 cents per kWh plus a six percent tax.

The charging stations fall under the Town of Chapel Hill’s various community sustainability efforts, which aim to help the town become more climate resilient while lowering environmental impact. A smaller reliance on gas-powered vehicles — for both personal and town-owned cars — helps Chapel Hill get closer to its town council’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions between 26-28 percent by 2025. According to the local government, estimates show electric vehicle energy costs are still 30 to 50 percent less expensive per mile than gasoline despite the new charging fees.

To help alert EV drivers of the changes, Chapel Hill plans to update its signage and digital messaging at charging stations, plus share details with websites that keep track of public EV chargers.

Available charging stations around Chapel Hill and the broader community can be found here.

 

Featured photo via the Town of Chapel Hill.

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