Many electric vehicle owners in the city of Chicago, and also in the state of Indiana, will soon have access to free EV charging, as per a number of recent press reports.
First of all, the electric utility for the northern part of Indiana — Northern Indiana Public Service Company — will be offering free overnight charging to registered electric vehicle (EV) owners with a separate meter installed just for EV charging. Meanwhile, in Chicago, Nissan is launching a new program offering two years of free public charging to new buyers/leasers of the Nissan LEAF.
To give some more details, the new program from the Northern Indiana Public Service Company will allow for free charging between the hours 10:00 pm and 6:00 am to registered owners who have also installed a separate EV charging meter.
In addition to the “zero rate” on offer, the company is also offering a subsidy of up to $1,650 towards the installation of the second meter — enough to install the whole thing for most people. This subsidy is only available to the first 250 EV owners to sign up for the program, though. Currently, about 125 customers have signed up. The program is set to end in 2016.
With regard to Chicago and Nissan, the new “No Charge to Charge” promotion, which offers two years of no-cost public charging with the purchase or lease of a new LEAF from Nissan dealers in the Chicago market, began on November 14. The free changing on offer is with regard to a large number of fast-charging stations spread out across the city, as well as 140 level 2 (240 volt) charging stations in the city — the fast-chargers can bring a LEAF battery pack from zero to 80% in around a half-hour.
“Nissan LEAF is an attractive option for Chicago car buyers for a number of reasons, such as the available Illinois Alternative Fuels Rebate of up to $4,000 and significantly lower operating costs than a gas-powered car,” stated Brendan Jones, director, Nissan Electric Vehicle Sales and Infrastructure Strategy. “Adding free public fast charging in Chicagoland gives Nissan LEAF an even greater competitive edge over other vehicles, regardless of their fuel source.”
The company’s “No Charge to Charge” promotion is now on offer in twelve of the biggest markets in the US — LA, DC, San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, Nashville, Phoenix, Dallas-Ft. Worth, and Houston.
Source: http://cleantechnica.com/2014/11/25/free-ev-charging-chicago-indiana/
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