Electric vehicle charger to be installed downtown next week

By Lyndsie Kiebert
Reader Staff

The city of Sandpoint will install an electric vehicle charger, capable of charging two cars at once, in downtown Sandpoint next week.

City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton said the station will be located in Jeff Jones Town Square near the Solar Roadways installation. She said the city worked with Avista to make Sandpoint’s EV charger a reality. 

Through Avista, the city was able to purchase the charger at wholesale cost and use the same installer Avista uses for such EV charging installations all over the region. 

The charger is universal, meaning it should be compatible with any electric car. It will be connected to the city’s Wi-Fi network, allowing them to track utilization. 

“This is the kind of smart city technology other cities are using. We’ve received a number of emails from people traveling through asking if there’s an EV charging station in town,” Stapleton said. “And, because people have to wait a couple hours for their cars to charge, it will get those people downtown.”