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Ortega Garage EV Chargers

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In 2024 the Sustainability & Resilience Department and Public Works Department installed the first electric vehicle (EV) fast chargers at a City facility. The fast chargers utilize 100% carbon-free electricity through Santa Barbara Clean Energy for residents, downtown workers, and visitors. Located at the Ortega Parking Garage (Lot 10) in downtown Santa Barbara, the chargers can rapidly charge any EV with up to a 200-mile range in as little as 15 minutes.

The Ortega Garage site includes 12 Tesla Superchargers on the third floor and four ChargePoint fast chargers on the second floor. With this combination of charger types, any EV can now charge at the Ortega Garage regardless of vehicle make or charging connector. The City of Santa Barbara received a $160,000 California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project grant from the California Energy Commission and developed agreements with Tesla and Carbon Solutions Group EV LLC to install the chargers.

Having successfully installed and operated 46 public Level-2 EV chargers over the past ten years, the City continues to expand EV charging access. The City is currently developing additional public charger installations and has already secured over $3.5 million in grant funding for new installations throughout the City.

By reducing barriers to EV adoption, this project directly supports the City of Santa Barbara's and the Sustainability & Resilience Department's goal to be carbon neutral by 2035 by reducing transportation-related emissions.

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EV Charging Locations

City Lot 6
(Granada Garage, 1221 Anacapa St.)
4 Stations (ground level)
30 stations (rooftop level)

City Lot 7
(Library Garage, 1115 Anacapa St.) - 2 Stations

Helena Lot
(217 Helena Ave) - 3 Stations

City Lot 10

City Lot 11
(Old Town Lot, 523 Anacapa St.) - 3 Stations

Harbor Main Lot - Los Baños Pool (125 Harbor Way) - 2 Stations. Harbor EV charging stations are managed by the Waterfront Department and are accessible through the lot towards the boat launch ramp area.

EV Charging Rate

(April 2023 Update)

Charging rates have been updated for the first time in several years to reflect increased electricity rates and time-of-use time periods. Due to increased demand, an idle fee has been added to encourage customers to move vehicles after their vehicle is charged*, increasing the availability of chargers.

*Existing Granada Garage EV Parking Permit holders exempted.

**New 2023 Winter Charging Rates (October - May)**
Season	Time of Day	TOU Period	Times	Charging Fee	Idle Time	Idle Fee
Winter 23/24	Mid-day	Off-peak	8am-4pm	$0.27/kWh	30 Min.	$5.00/hr. (≈$0.08/min.)
Winter 23/24	Evenings	On-peak	4pm-9pm	$0.68/kWh	30 Min.	$5.00/hr. (≈$0.08/min.)
Winter 23/24	Night-time	Mid-peak	9pm-8am	$0.38/kWh	30 Min.	$5.00/hr. (≈$0.08/min.)

The City looks forward to it’s Partnership with DirtRoad, who will be maintaining existing stations and installing new EV charging stations around town. Several new stations will be installed in 2023, starting with the City’s first DCFC fast chargers at Ortega garage.

Ortega Garage EV Chargers

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