West Hartford, CT Parking Rules: EV Charging (2026)

Sections 168-47 through 168-49, added 9-29-2025, govern public use of the Town's municipal electric vehicle supply equipment. Section 168-47 authorizes the Town Manager or a designee to set and periodically adjust a base charge reflecting the current market rate for electricity, as determined by the Town's electric utility provider or contracted electricity supplier, and to change that rate on an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or annual basis; the Town Manager may weigh electricity price fluctuations, user demand and comparable regional rates when adjusting it. On top of that base charge, § 168-48A(1) adds a cost recovery charge of $0.10 per kilowatt-hour to fund infrastructure, maintenance, administrative and capital costs, and § 168-48A(2) locks that $0.10/kWh rate through December 31, 2026, after which it adjusts annually based on the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), though the Town Council may modify the charge by resolution at any time based on updated cost analyses or policy considerations.

Section 168-49 adds an idle time surcharge of $10 per hour, prorated in 15-minute increments, beginning after the second hour a vehicle stays connected regardless of whether it is still actively charging; the Town designed the surcharge to push drivers to move their vehicles once charged so a station opens up for the next user. Together, the three sections give West Hartford's public charging network a market-based pricing structure without capping how often or how much the Town Manager can raise the base rate, so drivers should expect the posted per-kWh price to shift with electricity costs and demand rather than staying fixed.