New, Faster EV Chargers Coming To Santa Cruz

Press release from the City Of Santa Cruz Public Works Department:

SANTA CRUZ, CA — With grant funding, the City of Santa Cruz has upgraded 12 of its 13 electric vehicle charging stations to Blink electric vehicle chargers with faster charging speed than the previous models that were 10 years old and failing.

Thanks to an $80,000 California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project grant, the new Blink chargers can reach charge rates of up to 16 kW, twice as fast as the previous chargers. They are compatible with all plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles. The news chargers are located at the public parking locations listed below:

• 3 Chargers: Soquel/Front Garage 601 Front St.
• 3 Chargers: River/Front Garage Lot 10 24 River St.
• 2 Chargers: Pearl Alley Garage Lot 8 710 Cedar St.
• 2 Chargers: South Pacific Ave Lot 12 902 Pacific Ave.
• 1 Charger: Beach Hill Lot 18 25 Beach St.
• 1 Charger: Marini's 55 Municipal Wharf

The seven Soquel/Front and River/Front garage chargers can charge a faster rate than the other five. The other locations would require electrical upgrades to achieve a higher charge rate, however, they have the ability to charge at any rate between 20-100 AMPS if the electrical supports the charge rate. The max kW charging rate is based on car model.

The Blink chargers work with or without an app. Without the app, a touch credit card is needed. To download the Blink app, visit https://blinkcharging.com/corporate/blink-mobile-app/.

The Blink chargers have touch screens that tell the user the rate cost which is set at $.35 kWh with a one-minute grace period. (The transaction can be cancelled within 60 seconds.) Charging a Chevy Bolt from 0 to 100 percent, the cost would be $21 for a full charge of 240 miles.

Unlike the previous chargers, the Blink chargers are networked for collection of energy-use data, allowing the City to receive Low Carbon Fuel Standard credits and list the chargers on device-based apps.

The City of Santa Cruz supports the use of zero/low emission vehicles as part of its efforts to reduce greenhouse gases and improve Santa Cruz air quality.

This press release was produced by the City Of Santa Cruz Public Works Department. The views expressed here are the author's own