New electric vehicle charging station in West Jordan

By Erin Dixon | [email protected]

West Jordan City is now the proud owner of an electric vehicle charging station. 

Rocky Mountain Power provided a grant to the city that paid for 85 percent of the new station. 

The station has two connections, one with a high speed charger, and the other a slower connection. The slower Level 2 charger is free.

 “One of the conditions was that it be open to the public, and for anybody with an electric car to use,” said Public Works Deputy Director Justin Stoker. “That level 2 charger for the people that are not in a rush to get the electricity that they need.” 

The fee to charge a vehicle at this station is an initial $1.50 for connection then $0.20 per kilowatt hour. If the vehicle is left at the station for more than two hours, an additional $5 per hour fee will incur as a penalty for monopolizing the space from other users. 

Salt Lake City stations average $0.23 per kilowatt hour with a $2 initiation fee. There are other stations that are privately owned and charge higher amounts.

The city initially pays for the power that is used, but then receives money from Charge Point each month to pay for the electricity. 

Fees are collected through an online app that manages the programming of the station, as well as pays credit card fees. Brian Clegg, director of Public Works detailed the functioning of the station. 

“At the end of the month, the city will get a check from Charge Point from the customers who used the station.”

City leaders are looking to convert their work force vehicles in the near future to electric cars. $600,000 a year is budgeted just for gas. Charging an electric vehicle is 20 percent of the cost of gasoline. Not all the vehicles, such as fire trucks, have the potential to be converted. But Public Works pickup trucks and potentially police cars could be electric. 

“We’re looking forward to the potential for saving on fuel costs,” Stoker said. “In the next year or two, they may be cheaper than traditional mechanical cars.”

In addition to saving money on fuel, electric cars do not require as much maintenance.

“An electric vehicle is very simple; it’s just a battery and an electric motor,” Stoker said. “You effectively do away with the need to do an oil change, to get your transmission fluid checked or brake fluid checked. You still have to rotate your tires and change your windshield wipers, but that’s about it.”

The city will save additional money by being able to eliminate the costs associated with frequent maintenance. 

Councilmember Kayleen Whitelock was concerned that the fee be ample to not only maintain the stations but to ensure ability to pay for repairs in the future as needed. 

“I want to make sure we’re charging more than it costs us to have enough to maintain and repair,” Whitelock said.

Though the station is in West Jordan, local residents are not expected to be the primary users. 

“Usually, the people that will be using charging station will live outside our city,” White lock said. “They will charge at home, and when they’re going somewhere they charge there.” 

There are two other charging stations in West Jordan, but the only one owned and operated by the city is at the Public Works Building. 

Rocky Mountain Power has offered another similar grant, and West Jordan City may soon see another charging station near City Hall in the near future.

It is located at the Public Works Building on 7960 East 4000 West.