The city of Bellingham is expanding the number of electric vehicle charging stations, but officials say drivers will pay to get charged. Bellingham resident Barb Schickler is one of nearly 67,000 electric car owners in Washington, according to the Department of Energy. "I love my electric car," she says. "I wouldn't be without it!" Washington has the second most electric vehicles per capita in the United States, second only to California. Many EV owners have grown accustomed to charging their cars for free at grocery stores or public charging stations. Now, though, Bellingham is making people pay. "Nothing in life is free," says Bellingham Public Works Director Eric Johnston, "but it's still cheaper than gas and better for the environment." Drivers will now pay 25 cents per kilowatt hour -- that's about $2.00 for a full tank of electricity for you average electric car -- plus 75 cents an hour to park. For high speed charging stations it's an additional $1 per hour. According to the city of Bellingham, a driver at a standard charging spot would spend $3.60 for two hours -- gaining 42 miles of range. The cost for gasoline would be about double that. Some argue that forcing people to "pay to plug" when they can do it for free elsewhere might keep EV owners from coming downtown. But the Sniders, traveling from Bainbridge to Blaine for the New Year's holiday, specifically stopped in Bellingham to recharge. "We knew we were going to come here, spend a couple hours, shop, have lunch maybe go to the museum," says Dawn Snider. "We're just going to enjoy Bellingham." READ THE FULL STORY: https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/electric-vehicle-owners-bellingham-pay-to-charge/281-18e40176-7aed-4a3c-a255-ea459a140da9