Electric vehicle charging station to be installed in Libby

The City of Libby and Flathead Electric Co-op will cut the ribbon for Libby’s new electric vehicle charging station on May 11 at 1 p.m.

The public is invited to attend.

The charging station is located on land owned by the City of Libby and leased to the Co-op. It is near the Libby Chamber of Commerce and central to several Libby hotels, restaurants, and shops.

“The Co-op is excited about this partnership with the City of Libby,” said General Manager Mark Johnson. “Visitors to Libby, and guests of Libby locals, increasingly arrive via electric vehicles and need a place to charge. Numerous businesses are within walking distance to this charging station and EV owners can support those businesses while they wait.”

The Level 2 charging station rates are $1.55 per hour (capacity charge) plus $0.08 cents per kilowatt hour (energy charge).

There is a Level 3 charging station in the works for the Libby Town Pump with an anticipated opening date this summer. The Libby Town Pump is the recent recipient of a “Fast Charge Your Ride” grant and will offer one Level 3 fast charge and one Level 2.

“Although Level 3 charging stations are faster, the City of Libby and the Co-op felt a Level 2 was appropriate for this location. This station is more community based for people that are going to spend some time in Libby, or for locals to charge without the high costs associated with a Level 3 station. There was also a significant cost savings for the charging station itself,” noted Katie Pfennigs, Community Relations Manager for the Co-op.

Pfennigs continued, “Some of our members are interested in EV technology, and others are not. The Co-op doesn’t take a position on EVs, except to prepare for their presence on the grid that we manage for all members. It is important for us to understand how EVs impact our demand and capacity for electricity across our service area, which is why we installed this Level 2 charger in Libby.”

To find electric vehicle charging stations, visit https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/electricity_locations.html