RPU Becomes the First Minnesota Utility to Install Electric Vehicle Charging Station
ROCHESTER, MN January 11, 2011 – Rochester Public Utilities (RPU) today announced that the first public ChargePoint® Networked Charging Station for electric vehicles has been installed in Rochester. Located in the First St. parking ramp in downtown Rochester, the 240V Level II ChargePoint station is now available to the public.
The ChargePoint® Network Charging Station is open to all drivers of plug-in vehicles from all major manufacturers including the Chevrolet Volt, the Nissan LEAF, and the Ford Focus EV. ChargePoint Network’s unique features include:
- The ability for drivers to access stations without a subscription via contactless credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX, and Discover)
- 24/7/365 telephone driver support via a toll free number on all charging stations
- Smart Grid ready with built in Utility Grade Capable Metering, Time of Use (TOU) pricing and Demand Response (DR) control
- Multiple Smart Phone applications (iPhone and Blackberry) to find unoccupied stations and navigate to them
- The lowest operating cost possible due to real-time operational monitoring, alerts, diagnosis, and control of millions of stations
“Recognizing the rapidly approaching change in transportation, we felt it was important for RPU and the City of Rochester to step forward and be the first utility in Minnesota to install a public electric vehicle charging station,” said Larry Koshire, RPU General Manager. “The hard work of staff along with the support and direction from the RPU Board is what made this project possible.”
Additional charging stations are tentatively scheduled to be installed at the RCTC Eco parking lot and at the RPU Service Center later this spring.
About Rochester Public Utilities
As the municipal utility of Rochester, Minn., for more than 110 years, RPU provides high-quality and reliable electricity to over 47,000 customers. Water customers number more than 36,000. RPU continually investigates innovative technologies to help customers realize the best value from the services they receive. Current initiatives include fuel cell research, wind power, and photovoltaic offerings.
About Coulomb Technologies, Inc.
Coulomb Technologies is the leader in electric vehicle charging systems and application services, with the ChargePoint Network now operating in 14 countries, and Network Operations Centers in the U.S., London, and Hong Kong. The ChargePoint Network first went live in January of 2009. Coulomb provides a vehicle-charging infrastructure, with an open system driver network: the ChargePoint Network provides multiple web-based portals for Hosts, Fleet Managers, Drivers, and Utilities, and ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations ranging in capability from 120 Volt to 240 Volt AC charging and up to 500 Volt DC charging. For more information, follow Coulomb on Twitter at twitter.com/coulombevi. To request a charging station in your area, visit www.mychargepoint.net/request-station.php. To download the ChargePoint iPhone App, click here.
