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City Celebrates New EV Chargers at Everett Commons

by Jean Chen On In News | Comments Disabled

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On Monday, September 23, a small group of electric vehicle (EV) drivers and Alameda officials gathered in front of Everett Commons, the housing complex for low-income residents and veterans at 2437 Eagle Avenue. They were there to celebrate the newly installed EV chargers, provided through a partnership between the City of Alameda, Housing Authority of the City of Alameda (AHA), and the private company It’s Electric.

Alameda Post - a woman in a bright blue suit, Alameda's current mayor, stands at a podium and speaks into a microphone. She is outdoors on a walkway and standing next to a new EV charger. A group of four people stand off to the side. [1]
Photo by Maurice Ramirez.

The chargers, provided by It’s Electric, are curbside and publicly accessible. Anyone can pull up to the parking spots and charge their car for 40 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh.) By comparison, charging at a private home or building through Alameda Municipal Power is 50 cents/kWh during peak hours but just 16 cents/kWh during off-peak hours.

Drivers can sign up on the company’s app [2] to receive a free charging cable that they can use at the charging stations. After charging their car, drivers pack up the cable and take it with them. Twenty percent of the revenue collected from the charging stations goes to the property owner, which at Everett Commons is AHA.

Alameda Post - A man in a light blue suit smiles at the camera and inserts a charger into an electric vehicle. [3]
Photo by Maurice Ramirez.

One of the biggest obstacles to driving an EV is being able to charge it. Currently, most EV drivers charge their cars in private driveways, but for those who live in apartment buildings or multi-unit housing, chargers need to be publicly accessible. By installing curbside chargers, the City of Alameda hopes to encourage more drivers to switch to EVs.

During the ribbon cutting ceremony, Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft told the crowd that the curbside chargers are “about building a more equitable and sustainable future for our community.” She continued, “I want every Alameda resident, not just homeowners, to be able to participate in the transition to electric vehicles.”

Alameda Post - 11 adults and one child gather around a long ribbon and smile at the camera. They mime a ribbon cutting of a new EV charger next to the sidewalk. [4]
Photo by Maurice Ramirez.

According to Mayor Ashcraft, Alameda’s goal (outlined in the Climate Action and Resiliency Plan [5]) is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 [6] and to net zero by 2045. She also pointed out that charging EVs here is powered by Alameda Municipal Power, which is “100% clean, green electricity [7].”

The City of Alameda’s Sustainability and Resilience Manager, Danielle Mieler, initiated and coordinated the installation of the new chargers. She told the Alameda Post that the City had been looking for a partner for publicly accessible curbside charging and put out a request for proposals in February of 2024. It’s Electric responded to the call and was selected to partner with the City of Alameda.

Alameda Post - People talk and mingle on the sidewalk at an EV charger ribbon cutting event. [8]
Photo by Maurice Ramirez.

“We have funding from It’s Electric to provide 10 of the chargers at no cost to the city,” Mieler explained. She is currently trying to secure transportation grants to fund 20 more chargers.

Brian Tobin, an Alameda resident and the driver of a Chevy Bolt EV, attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony. He currently does not have access to a private charger and has to drive to an apartment complex that has 15 public chargers. “But that’s a mile away,” he pointed out. “And we have to really build that into our day… there really aren’t enough [chargers] close to where we live.” He said that the closest charging station to him is at South Shore, but because it’s free to use, it is always occupied.

Alameda Post - at an information booth on the sidewalk, one person holds a phone and explains something to another person. [9]
Photo by Maurice Ramirez.

With the installation of more accessible curbside chargers, EV drivers like Tobin will hopefully have an easier time charging their cars and the City of Alameda can help more drivers transition to EVs and meet its net zero emissions goal.

Download the It’s Electric app online [2] to get a free cable. The chargers are located at 2437 Eagle Avenue.

Jean Chen is a contributing writer for the Alameda Post [10]. Contact her via [email protected] [11]. Her writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Jean-Chen [12].