La PORTE — The city of La Porte is looking to purchase four public charging stations to encourage electric vehicle use in the city, and to better use the electric cars it already has.
During a meeting of the city of La Porte Board of Public Works, members opened the three charging stations bids, which ranged in price from $47,305 to $8,784.
The low bid came from NIPSCO.
City engineer Nick Minich said the bids were for dual port charging stations, which could accommodate a total of eight vehicles.
He said the city is looking to put the charging stations at the water and wastewater departments, downtown La Porte and Kesling Park, and to have them installed by April or May.
Minich noted that NIPSCO's bid came in lower than the others because it was not charging the city for the actual stations, just the warranty and software.
"Because they are the local energy provider they can offer incentives a typical electric station dealer can't offer," he said.
The incentive in question was the IN-Charge Around Town program.
According to a previous story in The La Porte County Herald-Argus, officials were also hoping to use the stations to encourage electric vehicle owners to come to the city. The stations would allow them to charge their vehicles and drive back. The city of La Porte already owns four smart cars.
Congestion Mitigation Air Quality grant money will be used for the purchase.