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Council raises city EV charging rate to 49¢/kWh, asks staff for multi‑year rate plan
Summary
Council approved raising onsite city EV charging from $0.20/kWh to $0.49/kWh to recover energy and maintenance costs; council asked staff to return next year with a proposed multi‑year fee‑adjustment plan and periodic adjustments tied to actual costs.
The San Clemente City Council unanimously approved a cost‑recovery increase to fees for the city’s public EV charging stations on Oct. 7, raising the rate from $0.20 per kilowatt‑hour to $0.49/kWh. Finance and parking staff told the council the previous rate did not cover energy and maintenance costs; a staff analysis showed about $58,000 in unrecovered costs in the recent fiscal year.
ChargePoint stations installed in 2019 had subsidized installation and a municipal rate that staff now recommends raising to cover full system costs — electricity, upkeep and ancillary administrative costs. Brian (staff) explained that all chargers operate on the same meter, so a single per‑kWh fee will apply to level‑2 and fast‑chargers. Councilmember Rick Loeffler asked whether the rate includes profit; staff confirmed the fee is for cost recovery, not revenue generation.
Council added an amendment asking staff to return next year with a proposed multi‑year rate schedule so council would not have to revisit the fee annually and so the fee could be adjusted based on an agreed formula tied to actual electricity and operating costs. The overall fee adjustment passed unanimously.
