Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The Palouse City Council voted Aug. 14 to authorize City Administrator Kyle Dixon to apply to bring an electric car charger to Palouse through an Avista program which has placed several throughout the region in the past two years.
Electricity cost on the chargers is something the city would cover.
“It’s not like they are giving free electricity away, it’s as a public benefit, like the costs for maintaining a city park,” said Paul Kimmel, Avista’s regional business manager.
Dixon sent in the application Monday.
“We’ve had multiple inquiries in Palouse about it,” said Mayor Michael Echanove.
If Palouse is chosen, Avista would provide the charging equipment and $2,000 in installation costs. The city would cover the rest, which Kimmel indicated would amount to less than Avista’s part.
A location discussed for the potential Palouse charger is at Heritage Park, in the last parking site set back off Main Street.
If approved, the chargers would be put in this fall, Kimmel said.
The chargers are for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and battery electric vehicles (BEV), which are powered by electricity only.
In 2016, the Washington State Transportation and Utility Commission approved a $3,000,000 pilot program for Avista to install charging infrastructure for electric vehicles at residential and commercial customer locations.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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