Electric vehicle owners traveling busy Highway 282 will find 10 EV charging stations for public use at Grant PUD’s future Ephrata Service Center, currently under construction with completion slated for early 2028.
The public-facing charging stations are part of $250,000 in grants received from the state departments of Ecology and Commerce to help fund both public-facing and Grant PUD fleet-only chargers.
The Level 2, 19.2 kilowatt, 80-amp, ChargePoint 6000 stations are an industry standard, capable of charging all makes of EV. An hour’s charge can add about 75 miles of range to a standard EV.
“These chargers will be an added convenience for our customers and for our own, growing fleet of electric vehicles,” said Grant PUD’s Vice President of Shared Services Fallon Long. “They’ll help ensure our buildings comply with relevant state codes for EV charging.”
- Ecology’s “Charge Where You Are” grant contributes $100,000 toward the cost to install the public chargers. Funds come from the state’s share of the settlement of a federal lawsuit in which Volkswagen pleaded guilty to altering diesel vehicles to cheat emissions limits.
- Commerce’s “Washington Electric Vehicle Charging Program” grant covers $150,000 of the cost to install by year’s end 12 EV chargers for Grant PUD fleet-vehicle use – six at the utility’s Ephrata Headquarters, two at its Ephrata Annex building on Diamond Drive, and four for its Hydro Office Building near Wanapum Dam. The grant is part of $37.3 million allocated for fleet EV charging statewide, funded by Washington’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA), which supports state climate action efforts by putting cap-and-investment dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs and improving public health.
Grant PUD will use up to $1.2 million from sale at auction of some of its state-awarded CCA clean-energy allowances to cover the chargers’ remaining installation cost.
Both public and fleet installations are necessary to comply with the state’s Transportation Electrification Strategy (RCW 43.392040), which requires all newly constructed, publicly accessible buildings set a percentage of their parking areas aside for EV charging.