Seattle to start Installing EV Chargers on Utility Poles

As the world evolves people are choosing to drive electric vehicles to reduce their emissions. For some apartment dwellers and homeowners, driving an EV gets a bit tricky without charging infrastructure available at home. The city of Seattle is attempting to make it easier for EV owners to get power by placing electric car charging stations on utility poles.

The Curbside Level 2 EV Charging program is open to all Seattle residents who do not have a home EV charging facility, and the public can use the service at no charge.

Only if the residents meet all of the requirements will they be able to request a new power source to be installed outside of their home. Existing street parking, being within the city limits of Seattle and not blocking any existing or planned bike or transit lanes are some of the requirements for the location of an EV charge station.

For the request to be made, a person must own or plan to own an EV within the next 12 months, and their existing address must not offer off-street parking. Once a request is made, Seattle City light will evaluate the area and request input from neighbors before installing a new EV charging station. If more than 50% of the neighboring property owners are against the project, it will not be installed in the requested location.

Electric vehicle chargers are installed at utility poles or pedestal mounts and each one services one car, providing up to 9.6 kW of power. Electric Vehicles will gain about 30 miles of range every hour that they are plugged in to the charger.

Residents can request to have the charging station on their streets, but will not have to pay the installation fees. As part of the city’s broader sustainability efforts, Seattle City Light will purchase the chargers and install them. EV owners will have to pay about $0.20 per kWh to charge their vehicle, which is enough for about 3 miles of travel.

The goal of the City of Seattle is to reduce emissions by 80% by the year 2030.