On Friday, Dec. 3, Seattle City Light and the City of Burien held an event to officially unveil our latest public electric vehicle (EV) fast charger in Burien. The charging station, located at the Burien City Hall/Library, includes the utility’s 17th public fast charger and is the second location in one of City Light’s franchise cities, with more installations planned in 2022.
The site includes one (1) 62.5kW fast charger. Depending on the electric vehicle, fast chargers can dispense upwards of 165 miles of range per hour of charge time, while Level 2 chargers can dispense up to 30 miles of range per hour. The fast charger is located in the publicly accessible Burien City Hall/Library parking lot.
This charging station is part of a pilot program designed to better understand City Light’s customer needs, to assess the impacts of EV fast charging on the electrical system, assess our role in a growing network of public EV chargers and plan for future program offerings. This pilot also fits within the utility’s Transportation Electrification Strategic Investment Plan, which strives to reduce carbon emissions across the transportation sector. In his remarks, City Light Energy and Innovation Resources Officer Emeka Anyanwu, explained how this charging station ties into the greater transportation electrification work of the utility and our goal for a cleaner energy future.
“Our approach to electrification and the future of energy is centered on three core values – equity, environment, and the grid. Our goal is to create a portfolio of programs that reflect these values and the needs of the communities we serve while helping the region achieve a fully electrified, carbon-free future,” Emeka said. “As a utility, we are continuously seeking opportunities to further our goal of curbing the effects of climate change in the Pacific Northwest. We applaud the City of Burien for their work to support this regional goal we all share.”
Recently, the Burien City Council approved the City of Burien’s first community Climate Action Plan. For Burien City Councilmember Kevin Schilling, the public charging station serves as a keystone of the city’s path towards this work.
“In Burien, the largest portion of our greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation sources. These emissions primarily come from driving gasoline-powered cars, particularly single occupancy passenger vehicles. That’s why one of the strategies in the Climate Action Plan is to support the development of a public electric vehicle infrastructure so that our community can more quickly transition to electric vehicles,” Kevin said. “We are immensely grateful to our partner, Seattle City Light, who installed this station right here in Burien. We applaud the utility’s commitment to climate action and to build a future where EV charging stations are easily accessible to all.”
For more information about City Light’s public EV charging program along with locations and rates, visit seattle.gov/city-light/electric-vehicles.