Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City has removed all user fees for its public electric vehicle charging stations, city officials announced Friday.
The fee waiver comes after Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski proposed the change and the Salt Lake City Council adopted the resolution last month.
"Salt Lake City is doing everything we can to improve air quality, and supporting electric vehicles is a core part of our commitment," Biskupski said in a statement. "We looked at fiscal impact of waiving fees versus the public benefits of encouraging electric vehicle usage, and this is a slam dunk."
Salt Lake City has 28 public electric vehicle charging ports. Additional stations are expected to be installed throughout the city later this year.
The fee was $1 to connect plus 10 cents per kilowatt-hour. The fee was eliminated to encourage more people to drive electric vehicles, city officials said.
"Investing in people who choose clean air options makes sense," Salt Lake City Council Chairwoman Erin Mendenhall said in a statement. "Electric vehicles are a good choice to help our city reduce pollution. We should encourage it."
The city's sustainability department estimated in a recent analysis submitted to the City Council that the fee waiver would mean an estimated impact of up to $12,000 a year, as well as an estimated $13,000 a year to cover electricity costs of new charging stations to be added at the airport this spring.
City officials said they will continue to monitor use and costs now that fees have been waived and will evaluate whether to reinstitute the fee if the cost outweighs the benefit.
For more information, visit slcgov.com
