Dual Electric Car Charger Installed on First Street Parking Deck

Electric car owners in or driving through St. Charles will get a charge out of this.

City officials on Monday introduced a dual-charging station for electric cars on the top level of the First Street Parking Deck, the Chicago Tribune reports.

It’s a move that received the support of aldermen in late October and formal City Council approval in November, and which the city trumpeted in a press release last week announcing the ribbon-cutting.

• Read more about the ribbon-cutting in the Tribune story.

St. Charles Patch reported in October that the stations are a relative rarity — the closest ones to St. Charles are in Geneva and Naperville — in an era when green energy alternatives to traditional fuels are being encouraged across the nation.

Tom Bruhl, the city’s electric services manager, told aldermen in October the service will be provided for free at a cost to the city of about 48 cents per two-hour charge, and that communities have been installing the devices as part of their efforts to promote economic development and green community initiatives.

Bruhl said then that a state rebate for the charging station makes the proposal financially attractive at little cost to the city. The grant provided $6,000 — or half the cost of buying and installing the unit.

Related:

• Oct. 31, 2013: First Street Deck May Get Dual Electric Car Charger