By Cecilia Chan | Gilbert Sun
Gilbert will implement a fee for drivers who charge their electric vehicles at town-owned stations, beginning Aug. 1.
Council in a 4-2 vote last week agreed to move forward to try and recoup its cost for dispensing the electricity currently free for drivers at Town Hall, the Hearne Way Parking Garage and at the Public Safety Training Facility.
The town’s estimated annual revenue will be about $6,500 a year after paying the cost of the electricity. The anticipated revenue does not include the additional fees or fines.
“Those proposed fees align with the current market whether that’s another municipality or even some of the private providers in the area,” said Jennika Horta, assistant to the town manager.
She added that based off council’s feedback at the March 5 study session, the consultant was asked to do a break-even analysis.
“If we were to include the cost of infrastructure in that calculation and what they found is that an annual average cost would be about $40,000,” Horta said. “That takes into account the current estimated cost of replacement at our three locations, that also takes in into consideration the cost of the site work and the preparation included in that project.”
New data-collecting chargers are being installed at an estimated annual cost of $29,800 and a lifespan of 10 years. The town currently has 21 stations for public use. Each station can service two vehicles.
Rollout of the fees will begin at Town Hall followed by the other two locations when the new stations are installed. The two locations are expected to be up and operational April 2025.
