First Street Deck May Get Dual Electric Car Charger

The rarity of charging stations is among the reasons some drivers are reluctant to consider electric vehicles as a green energy alternative.

St. Charles is looking at installing an electric charging station on the four level of the First Street Parking Deck, a proposal that won the recommendation of aldermen during a City Council Government Services Committee Meeting on Monday.

Tom Bruhl, the city’s electric services manager, pitched the plan to aldermen, said the charging station is designed to charge two vehicles at once and would be offered as a free amenity to visitors and residents. He said the cost of charging a vehicle is very inexpensive, and that communities elsewhere in the area have been installing the devices to promote economic development and their images as green communities.

Bruhl said a state rebate for the charging station makes the proposal financially attractive at little cost to the city.

Installing the devices in the downtown area, he said, will attract electric vehicle owners to that business district. He said the scarcity of the devices means that word spreads quickly among the electric vehicle community when new ones are installed.

The cost of buying and installing the unit is about $13,000, Bruhl said, and the city would receive a rebate from the state for half that cost, according to Bruhl. The device must be procured and installed by Dec. 19 to receive the rebate, he added.

The St. Charles City Council is expected to consider the matter formally on Monday.