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EQC backs changing EV charging fees to flat rates, pilots overnight allowance
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Summary
Menlo Park staff recommended — and the EQC voted to recommend to City Council — eliminating session and seasonal fees and charging flat rates of $0.41/kWh (Level 2) and $0.51/kWh (Level 3), while piloting removal of the $5/hour escalation fee between midnight and 6 a.m. to permit overnight charging for plugged‑in EVs.
Menlo Park — The Environmental Quality Commission voted Feb. 26 to recommend that City Council adopt a simplified, flat EV‑charging fee structure and to consider a pilot that allows overnight charging without escalation fees.
City staff presented a cost‑of‑service analysis and recommended eliminating the 50¢ session fee and the seasonal/peak pricing structure, and instead charging Level 2 stations $0.41 per kilowatt‑hour and Level 3 stations $0.51 per kilowatt‑hour. Staff proposed keeping a $5 per hour escalation fee for vehicles that remain plugged in beyond three hours (with a 15‑minute grace period) to encourage turnover, and preserving employee charging that is free for the first three hours.
Staff said the blended average electricity and fixed costs used in the analysis was about $0.33/kWh, and that the proposed flat rates are designed to recover electricity, cloud/warranty and maintenance costs without generating net revenue. The study compared regional rates and found Menlo Park’s proposal to be in line with — and typically lower than — some neighboring jurisdictions.
Commissioners pressed staff on several operational points: station uptime and utilization by hour, differences in per‑site electricity costs, notification and app alerts for escalation fees, and the city’s overnight parking ordinance that currently prohibits overnight parking in city lots. Commissioners discussed a pilot that would waive escalation charges between midnight and 6 a.m. for plugged‑in EVs and would waive overnight parking enforcement only for actively charging EVs during the pilot period.
After public comment endorsing simplification of rates and recommending an annual review, Chair McKenna moved (second: Commissioner Kissel) that the commission recommend City Council approve staff’s proposed rate changes (41¢/kWh Level 2; 51¢/kWh Level 3), eliminate the session fee and consider a pilot to waive the escalation fee 12 a.m.–6 a.m. to allow overnight plugged‑in charging. The motion passed 6–0 with one commissioner absent.
Staff will include the recommendations in the master fee schedule and follow up with utilization and uptime data; the EQC asked staff to monitor effects on charger utilization and revisit rates if usage patterns or costs change.
