Cost Of Electric Vehicle Charging May Go Up In Guilford

GUILFORD, CT – The cost of charging an electric vehicle at Guilford’s Town Hall was discussed by the Board Of Selectmen.

On Monday, May 1, the Board of Selectmen tabled the vote to increase the fee for using the Town Hall parking lot EV charging station.

Selectman Chares Havrda said he has no problem providing the service, but the costs should be covered.

Maryjane Malavasi, Guilford’s finance director, said there had been a discussion about the EV charging stations needing to bring more money to cover expenses.

“Last time this was discussed, they changed the way they charged from a flat dollar rate to a kilowatt rate,” she said during the meeting.

The change from a flat dollar rate to a kilowatt rate resulted in $1,680 in revenue, Malvasi stated, but she noted the utility expenses are $3,500.

“They are currently at 22 kilowatts per hour, and that amount was for 7,600 hours,” she said. “To cover the cost, we would have to increase the charge to 46 or 47 cents per kilowatt hour.”

Selectman Louis Federici said publicly available charging stations should be at least as expensive if not slightly more than what someone is paying at home and that it is covering the town’s cost.

Selectman Matthew T. Hoey III said they should look into the recent legislation that requires developers to provide charging stations based on the number of parking spaces they add.

“It might talk about how station providers can recover those costs,” he said.

Malavasi said the EV charging stations have been running in the red, and prices have gone up for electricity, so they should be increasing the cost.

“They also have the maintenance cost on the machines, which is $1,000 a year, which I have not included,” she said.