Kansas City is getting behind the electric car push, with Kansas City Power & Light Company announcing Monday that it wants to bring a huge network of electric car charging stations to the city's greater region.
The Clean Charge Network will be the largest installation of its kind by a U.S.-based electric utility, with 1,000 charging stations slated to operate throughout the region, according to PC Magazine. KCP&L said it will install the stations throughout the company's service area, "ensuring there will be a charging station near where electric vehicles owners live and work."
The first 15 stations, or "fast" stations, will be able to charge an electric car from zero to about 80 percent in about 30 minutes, and the rest will be "standard charging stations." EVs that use the network will be able to drive 25 miles for every hour they are plugged in.
KCP&L will spend about $20 million on Clean Charge, and it will ask state regulators to let it use its rates to make up the cost, which would result in residential customer paying an extra $1 to $2 per year to use the stations, The Kansas City Star reported.
The utility said it would make extra money from selling electricity to cars, which could eventually bring down rates for the network.
Kelly Gilbert, transportation director at the Metropolitan Energy Center, said Clean Charge will establish Missouri as one of only two states that have over 1,000 installed charging stations, the other being California, which has almost 2,000, The Kansas City Star reported.
"This project will make Kansas City one of the best-equipped metropolitan areas in the nation to serve an electrified vehicle fleet, and sets us up to be a nationwide leader," Gilbert added.
ChargePoint will take on the task of building the stations, which will be part of the ChargePoint network that includes over 20,000 charging locations in North America, PC Magazine reported.
Installation for the stations began in late 2014, and KCP&L plans on having Clean Charge completely operational by this summer and able to support over 10,000 electric cars.
