Electric Vehicle Chargers Online Soon in Paducah

Owners of electric vehicles will soon be able to charge their batteries in Paducah.

Electrify America has installed a 4-bay charging station in the parking lot of Walmart Supercenter at 5130 Hinkleville Road. A spokesperson told West Kentucky Star Thursday afternoon that the chargers are not yet operational, but will be soon. 

Each bay has connectors for vehicles using CCS or CHAdeMO charging methods, which use DC power. Many vehicle owners have L1 and L2 chargers at home, which use AC power and require more time to fully charge.

According to the Electrify America website, DC fast chargers have multiplied rapidly across the United States, and nearly 2,000 sites are available for EV drivers today. The Paducah location is one of nearly 500 more sites they plan to add by July.

Once operational, the driver will connect the charger cable to their vehicle and the charger will then ask for payment. They accept credit and debit cards from VISA and MasterCard, with a $1 session fee, a charging rate between 30-35 cents per minute, and a 40 cent per minute idle fee. 

Drivers can enter a mobile phone number and keep track of the charging process while they're in a local store or restaurant. Once charging is complete, drivers can avoid any idle time fees by disconnecting their vehicle within a 10-minute grace period.

The chargers can deliver between 50 - 350 kilowatts of power, with the maximum charging rate determined by what the vehicle can handle.

This is one of three EA charging stations in Kentucky - the others are in Bowling Green and Williamsburg. There is also an Electrify America charger in Clarksville, Indiana (just north of Louisville), Mt. Vernon, Illinois and Clarksville or Nashville, Tennessee. 

Electrify America is not the only company placing chargers across the country. Tesla Motors has "destination chargers" in Paducah at La Quinta Inn on Coleman Road and Best Western on Husband Road, with several more locations across Kentucky and the USA. Several independent websites help EV owners track where chargers can be found, and Google Maps can also reportedly show charger locations.