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Getting all charged up
City offering free vehicle charging through April 1

New charging stations for electric cars were turned on Monday at a public "uncovering" ceremony at the Pleasanton Civic Center.

These are the first municipally operated charging stations to become operational in the East Bay. General Motors representative Shad Balch, who works on environmental policy initiatives, demonstrated how to use the three charging stations in front of the Civic Center, using his mother's Chevrolet Volt at the ceremony.

Three of the chargers, which look like parking meters, have been installed in the parking lot near the entrance to the Civic Center. Another one is located in the back parking lot of the Museum on Main, 603 Main St., which is accessible off Division Street, and the fifth stand-alone charging station is at the west side of the Pleasanton Senior Center, 5353 Sunol Blvd.

The charging stations are funded through the federal government's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and Coulomb Technologies.

Each of the commercial grade Level Two EV charging stations is valued at $3,000-$4,000. They can fully charge a vehicle in three to eight hours.

The city government is offering free vehicle charges through Sunday, April. 1. Starting April 2, those using the chargers will have to pay to use them with a credit card, but the charging fee has yet to be determined.