Basalt proposes price for EV charging

Starting in mid-March, Basaltines who had become accustomed to the six free-EV charging stations operated by the town might need to begin paying. 

Increased usage since the chargers’ installation in 2022 has prompted Basalt to consider enacting charging costs to recoup utility, maintenance, and other costs to the town associated with operating the chargers. 

“The town has seen a steady increase in the number of EVs in the population’s fleet in the area over the last few years,” Town Engineer Catherine Christoff told councilors on Tuesday evening. “As the town has taken on more charging stations, the cost associated with them has become more significant, and because of this, town staff has developed and proposed a policy to implement some fees for charging to help cover some of those costs.”

Of Basalt’s six charging stations, four of them are the level two, “slow chargers,” and the remaining two are the level three “fast chargers.” 

Basalt staff are proposing two different charging rates for the two different charger types: $0.15 per kilowatt hour at the level two stations, and $0.45 per kilowatt hour at the level three stations. According to the memo presented to councilors, this would work out to between approximately $6 and $9 to charge a Tesla Model 3 from a quarter full to full energy. 

The level three chargers would cost between $16 and $24 for the same charge. 

After vehicles complete charging, there would be a grace period of fifteen minutes for individuals to retrieve their vehicles. If their cars remain at the charger beyond that fifteen minute period after fully charging, a $0.25 per minute charge would be added to the charge. 

As proposed on Tuesday, all chargers would be exempt from that overstay charge between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. 

However, Basalt Mayor David Knight expressed a concern that overstay exemptions on the fast chargers would allow people to block chargers that are meant to be used for around an hour by people traveling through town.

“Typically, with the level three (chargers), you come in, hit the thing, you’re there for an hour maybe, and then get on your way,” he said. “It’s not like those level twos where you’re charging that (all night). I would get that you’re not going to go out there in the middle of the night to move your car. But the level threes, you’re passing through typically.” 

He and other councilors agreed that the next hearing for the proposal should include a retention of the overstay fee on the level three chargers through the night. The fee would continue to be exempt for level two chargers in the evenings. 

Charging costs would also include a 9% software processing fee and applicable taxes, which, according to Christoff, some other local chargers bundle into the price. Basalt would not seek to do that. 

“Staff used those metrics (from the past four months) to create a pricing strategy that is designed to offset utility costs, processing and software costs, as well as the maintenance costs associated with these (chargers),” she said. 

Councilors passed the ordinance unanimously on first reading, and the second reading is scheduled for late February.