SOPEC says Athens locked in lower electricity rates, plans EV charging hub at former service station

At a committee meeting Monday, Luke Selfridge, representing the Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council, told Athens City Council members that SOPEC has secured federal grants and locked in power supply rates that will lower Athens’ electricity supply price for the coming year.

SOPEC, Selfridge said, has purchased 136 Columbus Road — the former Russell service station — and has been awarded two federal grants totaling $16,600,000 to develop an electric vehicle charging corridor connecting Southeast Ohio and Western Ohio with main nodes in Athens and Dayton. “We have been awarded 2 EV charger grants from the federal government, in the amount of $16,600,000 to connect, Southeast Ohio with, Western Ohio,” Selfridge said.

The presentation emphasized two immediate impacts for Athens. First, Selfridge said SOPEC locked supply for the city at a fixed rate for the next 12 months; he gave the Athens supply rate inclusive of the local carbon fee as about 9.956 cents per kilowatt-hour, with the city’s current supply roughly 10.057 cents. Second,…