Iowa City is looking to add a new fee for electric vehicle charging at public stations so it can to break even on the impacts of other costs, including paying a state user fee that went into effect last month.
The Iowa City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved first consideration of an ordinance adding the fee that would apply to charging in the city’s six downtown parking ramps. The ordinance needs to be approved two more time before going into effect.
The proposed fee of 16 cents per kilowatt-hour would allow the city to break even on operations of the charging stations. A typical electric vehicle driver can anticipate paying $4 per four-hour charging session, city staff said in a memo.
The city fee would cover the costs of a new state user fee, which is intended to replace gas taxes EV owners no longer are paying. Other city costs also include ChargePoint transaction fees, electricity and ChargePoint cloud plan fees. ChargePoint is the platform the city uses to facilitate charging sessions.
If no city fee is imposed, the estimated loss for Iowa City is $10,568 per year.
At the end of 2022, Iowa had 10,712 registered electric vehicles, up 28 percent from 8,370 at the end of 2021.
Electric vehicle sales are expected to grow even more this year because of a $7,500 tax credit for new, qualified EVs and a $4,000 credit for used vehicles. While EVs are the fastest-growing sector of vehicle registrations in Iowa, they still make up only a sliver of about 4 million registered vehicles in the state.
⧉ Related article: Iowa EV registrations up 30%, charging stations lag
While most electric vehicle drivers do most of their charging at home, they also are looking for fast-charging sites in the community and on the highway.
Iowa has 320 public charging locations with a total 698 charging ports, according to a U.S. Department of Energy database. This is up about 16 percent from 276 public charging stations this time last year.
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As of July 1, the owners of non-residential EV charging stations have to pay a 2.6-cent per kilowatt-hour fee for all electricity charged at their terminals. This applies to Iowa City’s public charging stations.
The new fee, passed by the Iowa Legislature in 2019, is intended to replace gas taxes EV owners no longer are paying. Fuel tax makes up 40 percent of the State Road Use Tax Fund, which pays for maintaining and improving roads and bridges at the state, county and city levels.
The city has been offering electric vehicle charging in municipal parking facilities since April 2017, starting with the Harrison Street Ramp, city staff wrote in a memo to council. The following year, in November 2018, charging equipment was installed in Capitol Street Ramp, Dubuque Street Ramp and Chauncey Swan Parking Ramp.
Next came the equipment in the Court Street Transportation Center in December 2019 and the Tower Place Parking Ramp in July 2020.
With these installations, two electric vehicles could charge simultaneously in each of the six downtown parking facilities, the memo said. Parking sessions in electric vehicle spots are limited to four hours to promote vehicle turnover.
The city has seen “tremendous growth” in the use of public chargers, but city staff said demand could decrease for drivers with charging capacity at home.
“After a fee is established, we may observe that a greater proportion of those using public EV charging in the future are renters or those who without access to a garage,” the memo said. “Staff will continue to monitor the utilization of charging equipment and expenses and will periodically reevaluate the fee structure.”
www.thegazette.com
The Iowa City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved first consideration of an ordinance adding the fee that would apply to charging in the city’s six downtown parking ramps. The ordinance needs to be approved two more time before going into effect.
The proposed fee of 16 cents per kilowatt-hour would allow the city to break even on operations of the charging stations. A typical electric vehicle driver can anticipate paying $4 per four-hour charging session, city staff said in a memo.
The city fee would cover the costs of a new state user fee, which is intended to replace gas taxes EV owners no longer are paying. Other city costs also include ChargePoint transaction fees, electricity and ChargePoint cloud plan fees. ChargePoint is the platform the city uses to facilitate charging sessions.
If no city fee is imposed, the estimated loss for Iowa City is $10,568 per year.
Electric vehicles in Iowa
At the end of 2022, Iowa had 10,712 registered electric vehicles, up 28 percent from 8,370 at the end of 2021.
Electric vehicle sales are expected to grow even more this year because of a $7,500 tax credit for new, qualified EVs and a $4,000 credit for used vehicles. While EVs are the fastest-growing sector of vehicle registrations in Iowa, they still make up only a sliver of about 4 million registered vehicles in the state.
⧉ Related article: Iowa EV registrations up 30%, charging stations lag
While most electric vehicle drivers do most of their charging at home, they also are looking for fast-charging sites in the community and on the highway.
Iowa has 320 public charging locations with a total 698 charging ports, according to a U.S. Department of Energy database. This is up about 16 percent from 276 public charging stations this time last year.
On Iowa Politics
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As of July 1, the owners of non-residential EV charging stations have to pay a 2.6-cent per kilowatt-hour fee for all electricity charged at their terminals. This applies to Iowa City’s public charging stations.
The new fee, passed by the Iowa Legislature in 2019, is intended to replace gas taxes EV owners no longer are paying. Fuel tax makes up 40 percent of the State Road Use Tax Fund, which pays for maintaining and improving roads and bridges at the state, county and city levels.
Charging stations in Iowa City parking ramps
The city has been offering electric vehicle charging in municipal parking facilities since April 2017, starting with the Harrison Street Ramp, city staff wrote in a memo to council. The following year, in November 2018, charging equipment was installed in Capitol Street Ramp, Dubuque Street Ramp and Chauncey Swan Parking Ramp.
Next came the equipment in the Court Street Transportation Center in December 2019 and the Tower Place Parking Ramp in July 2020.
With these installations, two electric vehicles could charge simultaneously in each of the six downtown parking facilities, the memo said. Parking sessions in electric vehicle spots are limited to four hours to promote vehicle turnover.
The city has seen “tremendous growth” in the use of public chargers, but city staff said demand could decrease for drivers with charging capacity at home.
“After a fee is established, we may observe that a greater proportion of those using public EV charging in the future are renters or those who without access to a garage,” the memo said. “Staff will continue to monitor the utilization of charging equipment and expenses and will periodically reevaluate the fee structure.”
Iowa City considering electric vehicle charging fee in public parking ramps
Iowa City is looking to add a new fee for electric vehicle charging at public stations to recover the impacts various fees, including the state user fee that went into effect last month.
www.thegazette.com
