San Juan Bautista leaders are set to host a dedication for the area’s first electric charging station at Abbe Park on Feb. 17, according to announcement from the city.
The dedication ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. a week from today at the park on Muckelemi Street.
The Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments – which includes San Benito, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties – used a $25,000 grant from the Monterey Bay Regional Air Pollution Control District to install at least one public charging station in each county. The San Juan station also was developed by the joint cooperation of ECOtality, North America and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 234, according to the city.
San Juan Bautista recently accepted a five-year contract for the electric charging station with hopes it will encourage tourism in the Mission City. The city will not be charged a $20 monthly fee for the first year of the pilot project, as that is subsidized by the grant. The $240-per-year cost kicks in during the second year of the five-year agreement.
This pilot project is expanding that number of stations in nine United States’ metropolitan areas, including the Bay Area and the Monterey region. After the five-year agreement expires, participating cities will have the opportunity to re-negotiate the terms of their deal.
A charging station uses about the same amount of energy as an electric clothes dryer, Linda Meckel, an AMBAG planner, has said. A car charging for five hours, for example, would use an estimated $4.32 worth of electricity.
The charging station will be equipped with a credit card swiping mechanism.
