Idling Fees Waived for Overnight Charging at Baldwin
The EV charging stations located in the Baldwin lot in downtown Westport, installed a year ago, have a fee of $.35 per kWh. However, this is a timed lot, and for any EV sitting at a charger longer than the 3-hour limit, an idling fee is charged following a 15-minute grace period. It is $10/hour, charged in 15 minute increments.
These are 80-amp level 2 chargers. While an EV can get a fair amount of charge (depending on the speed enabled by the vehicle’s onboard charger) in 3 hours, it isn’t enough time to fully charge from a near depleted state. We have heard from some folks who live near downtown and do not have charging at home who would like to use these for longer than the current limit.
That is now being enabled by the town. We don’t have all the details yet concerning specific hours and when the network vendor, EVConnect, will have it enabled, but the idling fees are being waived for overnight parking. The standard per kWh rate still applies. This will help nearby EV owners to charge and will mean additional utilization/more revenue for the town.
Also, there are no idling fees for the chargers in the Metro-North commuter lots.
We applaud the town for taking this step and will update with more specifics as we learn of them.
Allowing overnight charging at public chargers can reduce charging anxiety, generally speaking. It is a particularly great approach if situated near multi-family housing where available charging options may be limited.