Providing Public Electric Vehicle Charging Services for Municipalities
As more and more electric vehicles (EVs) appear on city streets, city planners are growing increasingly concerned about how to provide electric vehicle charging services cost-effectively. Automakers anticipate that EV drivers will be concentrated in major metro areas, and residents will be looking for easy, convenient ways to charge their vehicles. Municipalities have an opportunity to address the interests of their residents in preserving the environment, reducing oil dependencies and slashing the cost of transportation.
Many city dwellers live in apartment complexes or must park on the street or in public garages, and they can't charge their vehicles at home. They need accessible charging stations in convenient, safe locations, such as where they work, play and shop. Coulomb Technologies' ChargePoint Network enables a charging infrastructure that provides open, citywide charging services to the public—one that integrates with the Utility's Smart Grid.
You can use the ChargePoint Network to:
Provide open, impartial charging services for everyone
Residents can access charging stations with many options including credit card, ChargePass™ RFID cards or by calling a toll free telephone number.
Recoup electricity costs
Choose if your charging stations are accessed for free, or for a fee and have usage fees automatically collected and transferred to your city bank accounts.
Provide high reliability at low cost
The ChargePoint Network takes care of drivers so you don’t have to. The network notifies drivers with text and Email messages keeping drivers informed of their vehicle charging status at all times. Or, drivers can call the ChargePoint network support center via a toll free number.
Enable new revenue sources
Attract environmentally conscious residents with a city branded ChargePoint Network Driver Portal. The portal allows commuters to locate charging stations along their driving route within your city.
Protect public safety and limit city liability
A ChargePoint Charging Station will only energize a charging session if it is in good working order, the user is safely isolated from electricity, and access is authorized over the ChargePoint Network.
Integrate with Smart Grid systems
Utility-grade meters and the ability to communicate with other Smart Grid systems enable demand response, time-of-use pricing, and other Smart Grid programs provided by the Utility.
Start now, be prepared for the future
The ChargePoint Network can remotely upgrade charging stations to accommodate future advancement in electric vehicle charging needs and can scale to millions of charging stations allowing a city to provide EV charging services today and meet growing demands of the future.
With the ChargePoint Network, cities can ensure readily available, safe, reliable access to energy for EV drivers while opening up new revenue streams for city services through centralized management and pay-per-use features.
Download this solution brief to discover how your city can benefit from a citywide plug-in-vehicle charging infrastructure.
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