Seattle is home to large numbers of Drivewayless Drivers—those unfortunate car owners who lack driveways, and must use street parking near their homes. To address this problem, local utility Seattle City Light has launched a service that will install public Level 2 chargers at curbside locations throughout the city.

Seattle City Light will install, own, operate and maintain the EV chargers. There will be no cost to the resident or property owner to request or install a curbside charger. The chargers will be available on a first-come, first-served basis and cannot be reserved. Residents of nearby properties will not receive priority use.

Each charger will provide power levels up to 9.6 kW. Drivers will pay a per-kWh fee (20 cents per kWh initially).

City Light is selecting charger locations through an opt-in process. Residents can request a charger in front of their homes, and the agency will evaluate each request and choose the locations that “best support the equity and environmental goals of the Transportation Electrification Strategic Investment Plan.”

Customers will be able to request a charger in front of their home during an opt-in process that began in spring 2022. City Light will evaluate requests during summer 2022, and charger installations could occur in winter 2022/2023. Customers with comments on the proposed project can fill out an online survey.

Source: Seattle City Light