Editor’s Note: Story updated to include additional information from Public Works on the city’s network of EV chargers on 7/15/26 at 1:04 p.m.

BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – It will soon cost more to super-charge electric vehicles for some Bellingham residents.

The Bellingham City Council voted unanimously on Monday, July 13, to approve a rate increase for faster-charging public EV stations.

The city is currently losing about $11,000 per year on the EV charging stations it operates due to rising inflation, changes in electricity prices and EV charging vendor costs.

The new rate schedule will increase fees for fast-charging Level 3 stations from about 25 cents to 40 cents per kilowatt-hour. The cost for regular Level 2 charging stations will remain the same.

The city currently operates 45 chargers that are accessible to the public, 40 of which are Level 2 and five are Level 3. According to Public Works, the average user of a Level 3 station charges long enough to buy about $6.50 worth of energy. That will raise to $10.50, on average, with the new rates.

Councilmember Michael Liliquist said the city’s intent was never to make money, but that this rate change will prevent them from operating the program at a budget deficit.

“That would be enough basically to turn our EV charging program from the red to the black and therefore cover those costs so there’d be no need for a public subsidy to run these public charging stations,” Lilliquist said at the meeting.

The council noted that the increased fee is still lower than the average market rate. The resolution the council approved will also adjust the charging fees annually to keep pace with inflation.

It comes as public usage of the city’s EV charging stations has dramatically risen over recent years as the network of stations has steadily grown.