City ends free EV charging, looks to bring paid stations

WEST HAVEN — A local businesswoman is worried the conclusion of a pilot energy program has led to a spark in some of her clients fizzling out.

Carolyn Sires, owner of Physicians Physical Therapy on Campbell Avenue, said one of her clients was surprised to see a sign on an electric vehicle charging station in the municipal parking lot beside City Hall informing residents that the free station had closed to the public April 11.

“This charger is only for use by city fleet vehicles,” the sign says, urging the public to charge their vehicles in a CVS parking lot two blocks away — a service which is not free to use.

Sires said she believes it may have lost her a client. The man who informated her of the issue drives an electric vehicle and is mobility-limited; he said paying to charge his car and walking two blocks while that happens is a challenge.

She said phasing out the free electric vehicle charger is “boneheaded” because there is little oversight: the city is not monitoring whether only city fleet vehicles are charging at the station, and that it is a public service not made available to the public.

City Grants Manager Doug Colter said the pilot program to operate the charging station for free to residents came to an end because it was too costly.

“(Mayor Nancy Rossi) ended the pilot because the solar system is not producing enough electricity to offset the charger use,” he said.

Colter said the idea came from solar panels installed on the roof of a former Masonic Lodge that has been identified as the future site of an arts center. The building, which is vacant, was not using any electricity, so the city figured it could use the solar power for charging electric vehicles. However, he said the city learned that the rooftop solar panels were not capturing enough energy to make the station sustainable.

However, Colter said good things are on the horizon — namely 10 electric vehicle charging stations in that City Hall parking lot.

“In order to avoid retreating from our commitment, we’re building 10 charging stations in the City Hall parking lot with a pay station on them. Construction on that starts in a couple weeks, and it should be ready for primetime in about a month,” he said. “We’ll be providing that service at whatever cost it is to operate the station. We’re not looking for a commercial profit.”

The city also purchased 10 electric Nissan Leaf vehicles “at an extreme discount” to replace aging Crown Victoria vehicles in the city’s possession. Only six have arrived in the city and been paid for because of global supply chain issues, Colter said.

“Those 10 chargers will also service the city fleet that’s slowly moving over to electric,” he said.

Colter said United Illuminating offered the city a rebate for installing the charging stations, and the city is to pay a cost share for using them to charge vehicles in its fleet.

Sires said she believes the city could have better communicated the changes to the public.