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East Dundee trustees direct staff to set $0.20/kWh and review EV charger use in January
Summary
After six weeks of free operation, trustees discussed whether to charge for two village‑owned Level 2 EV chargers at the garage, agreed on a low initial rate of $0.20 per kilowatt‑hour, and will revisit results in January.
The Village Board discussed whether to continue offering free charging or to implement fees at two village‑owned electric‑vehicle chargers in the municipal garage and directed staff to set an initial rate of $0.20 per kilowatt‑hour and return to the board with data and recommendations in January.
Staff said the two Level‑2 chargers were activated in mid‑ to late‑May and have been free to users while the village collected six to seven weeks of usage data. The chargers were purchased through Blink and installed by a dealer; the village owns the hardware and pays a network backend fee to Blink (staff noted approximately $500 per year for network service and an operator fee percentage for transactions).
Why it matters: trustees and staff weighed competing objectives — encouraging EV use, covering ongoing equipment and network costs, and avoiding subsidizing EV drivers at the expense of other residents. Trustees also discussed practical enforcement of a parking time limit at EV stalls and whether to levy an overtime fee after a vehicle is fully charged.
Key technical and policy points discussed: - Charger type and output: staff described the units as Level‑2 chargers with roughly 16 kW output; one speaker estimated roughly 40 miles of range per hour of charging at that rate. - Network and operations: Blink provides network services, billing and a customer portal; staff said Blink’s back‑end billing fee (an operator percentage) would be passed through and staff can adjust pricing through Blink’s portal. - Usage data: staff provided six weeks of use statistics in the packet for trustees to review.
Board direction: trustees agreed on a low introductory price of $0.20 per kWh to test billing and market response and asked staff to return with updated usage, revenue and comparative market pricing in January (or sooner if staff recommends). Trustees also discussed adding an overtime charge for vehicles occupying a space after charging is complete and suggested staff evaluate enforcement mechanisms.
Next steps: staff will implement the $0.20 per kWh rate through Blink, monitor transaction and utilization data, and report back to the board with a recommended long‑term rate and any enforcement or signage needs by January.
