The City of Santa Barbara has installed electric-vehicle charging stations at the Granada Garage parking structure at 1221 Anacapa St. just in time for this weekend’s Earth Day Festival, and will offer free charging until July.
Funded by an Energy Department grant, Coulomb Technologies is installing thousands of stations throughout the country to facilitate more use of electric vehicles.
Santa Barbara is getting eight stations between parking structures and lots at Helena Avenue, The Granada, the Central Library and the Santa Barbara Harbor as a pilot program, since electric-vehicle demand is expected to increase, according to Jim Dewey, the city’s facilities and energy director.
There will be a $2 hourly rate to start, down from the originally proposed $5 fee that would reportedly be a break-even rate for the city.
A percentage of the fee gets kicked back to Coulomb, and customers can use credit cards or ChargePoint cards.
Customers will still have to pay parking fees, which can be up to $20 on the weekends.
— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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