Council asks EAC and staff to return with revised EV charger rate after broader cost review
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Summary
Council did not set a new rate at the meeting; it directed the Electric Vehicle Advisory Committee and staff to analyze two years of charger data and operational costs and return with a recommended rate for a future vote.
Narberth Borough Council voted to authorize the Electric Vehicle Advisory Committee (EAC) and borough staff to conduct a more comprehensive analysis of public charger utilization and the borough's incurred costs and to return to council with a recommended price per kilowatt-hour.
The EAC had initially proposed a rate based on a short span of Peco bills, which staff said understated long-term costs because it covered colder months and only part of usage data. Council asked staff and the EAC to account for electric usage for 2023 and 2024, include labor and administrative time (including parking enforcement), incorporate maintenance and contract costs, and then return with a rate designed to at least cover operational expenditures. Council amended the original motion on the floor to clarify that staff and the EAC would prepare the revised recommendation and seek council adoption at a future meeting; the amendment passed.
Council emphasized that revenue from charger sessions currently does not fully cover maintenance and administrative costs and that tickets or enforcement revenue cannot be relied on to cover charger operating expenses. Staff and EAC were given a target to present the analysis in the coming weeks and recommended a return to council for a formal vote when a specific cents-per-kWh rate has been modeled.