Select Board votes to add fees on its two town car charging stations | Local News | benningtonbanner.com

BENNINGTON – The Select Board voted unanimously on Monday to accept a proposal to introduce fees for use of the town’s two charging stations.

“Currently there are two level-two EV charging stations that are town-owned. They were installed in 2014 and since their installation fees have not been collected on any of the services they have been providing,” said Paul T. Dansereau, town director of facilities. “Demand has continued to rise over the past several years as we expected. It’s forecast to continue to rise as more and more electric vehicles become available.”

Dansereau developed the proposal with Mark Sawyer, assistant director of facilities.

Each charging station can handle two vehicles at once. One is located behind the Town Office (205 South Street) and the other is located in the public parking lot off Pleasant Street (215 Pleasant Street).

The staff proposal was to institute a charging fee and idle time fees, comparable to regional averages. The charging fee rate will be $0.20 per kWh. There also will be a fee for idle time after two hours of not charging, at $2 per hour.

“What that does is it provides the incentive so that once the vehicle’s charged it’s not left plugged in at a charging station for four, six, nine hours at a time,” Dansereau said.

The proposal acknowledges one disadvantage: a possible negative response from EV owners who have become accustomed to a free service.

On the other hand, there are the following advantages: it offsets Town of Bennington electricity costs incurred from the EV Charger use. Another advantage is it offsets town overhead costs of use of ChargePoint equipment and software at each station.

Charging a feel also enables creation of a specific EV Level II Charger account to be established to fund the expansion of Level II charger installations at town-owned facilities, such as parking lots, as demand for EV chargers continues to grow. The total cost to install a new Level II EV Charging Station is approximately $12,000 to $16,000 depending on power installation requirements.

These fees would also make possible an account for repairs for damaged EV Level II Chargers that are currently not budgeted for.

Jim Sullivan, a resident who was elected to the board in March but has not yet taken his seat, said the charging stations are most useful for visitors to Bennington.

“it's really a tremendous value to the town to have a number of charging stations available,” he said. “So I hope you keep monitoring the usage levels and look for opportunities to expand, because electric vehicles are getting much more popular.”

Right before the vote to accept the proposal, Select Board member Nancy White sought to make clear that no money will be coming from the town budget to fund the chargers.

“They will be charged at .20 cents per kilowatt hour. That pays for the electricity, which right now is averaged at 12 cents per kilowatt hour,” Dansereau said. “The extra 8 cents per kilowatt hour we will be using the funding for the overhead fee for ChargePoint, insurance and building a fund for operation, maintenance and continued expansion.

“Now a year from now I will know exactly to the penny? I can’t tell you that right now, but that’s what those fees should cover.”

Dansereau estimated the fees could begin in the next 30 to 60 days.

Mark Rondeau can be reached at [email protected]

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