Drivers who plug in for free at Walnut Creek's downtown parking garages and Shadelands Art Center could soon pay between $0.16 and $1.00 per kilowatt-hour under a plan heading to the City Council on Tuesday, Aug. 18.
The city has offered free EV charging at its public ports since 2017. That nine-year stretch is now on the table under a draft Electric Vehicle Strategic Plan that staff will present at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 1666 N. Main St., as Contra Costa News reported.
The proposed fee range targets 40–80% cost recovery on a program that costs the city roughly $250,000 a year in electricity, networking fees, maintenance and staff time. The city currently collects nothing from the chargers.
For context, other public-agency EV chargers in the region average about $0.36 per kilowatt-hour, roughly equivalent to paying $2.50 per gallon of gas. Privately owned Level 2 chargers in Walnut Creek average about $0.45 per kilowatt-hour. According to the city's agenda report, staff intend to start below the regional average to keep encouraging EV adoption, then adjust based on usage data.
Where the chargers are
The fee would apply to 40 publicly available charging ports at six locations: the Broadway, South Locust, Library and Lesher parking garages, plus surface lots at City Hall and the Shadelands Art Center. An additional 12 ports reserved for the city's own fleet are not part of the public fee proposal.
$5.6 million electrification price tag
The plan, developed with consultant Black & Veatch, also maps out how to electrify the city's 175-vehicle fleet through 2040. Staff recommends an "ACF Plus" scenario that transitions all state-mandated vehicles plus additional light-duty cars when feasible. That path would cost an estimated $25.5 million total, about $5.6 million more than simply replacing aging vehicles with gas-powered ones.
Two capital projects are already in the pipeline: a $500,100 upgrade at the Heather Farm Corp Yard, authorized by council in November 2025 and now in design, and a $1.3 million expansion at the Lawrence Way Corp Yard that would add five DC fast chargers and 12 Level 2 chargers.
What happens Tuesday
The council is not voting to adopt a fee on Aug. 18. Staff is asking members to review the draft plan and authorize a search for a third-party vendor to manage day-to-day charger operations and maintenance. The vendor would handle repairs that have lagged under the current in-house setup. A final fee structure and vendor contract would return to council at a future meeting.
The city's Transportation Commission reviewed the proposal at its May 21 meeting and generally supported the operational changes, according to commission minutes. Commissioners emphasized the importance of selecting a flexible vendor and offered ideas for how the fee could be structured.
As we reported Friday, the Aug. 18 meeting also includes votes on other city fee updates and a rental-property appeal.
Sustainability manager Candice Rankin Mumby is the staff contact for the EV plan item. Residents can email comments to [email protected] by 2 p.m. on Aug. 18 or attend the 6 p.m. meeting in person at City Hall. Remote participation is available via Zoom (Webinar ID: 843 0612 4990, Passcode: 019928).
