Two electric car charging stations intended for public use should be installed in Carmel this week.
According to Community Relations Specialist Melanie Lentz, Duke Energy was scheduled to install the pair of stations between Wednesday and Friday on the first floor of the parking garage at the Center for the Performing Arts.
And Community Relations Director Nancy Heck said the city will pay nothing to acquire them.
“Duke Energy is installing these stations at their own cost for the purpose of gathering data and information from the equipment with respect to vehicle charging activity, vehicle usage and technical performance of the vehicle and equipment,” Heck said in an e-mail.
Heck said Duke will own the rights to the data it collects but will share this information with city in the form of monthly reports. The company also plans to disclose the information to third parties to help them evaluate the impact electric vehicles have on transit systems and power grids, she said.
Duke has agreed to keep the stations in the garage for two years, although either side can opt of the agreement with at least 30 days notice, Heck said. She added Duke has the ability to extend the contract for an additional year, but once the agreement ends, the machines will likely remain inCarmel.
“At the end of the two-year term, we receive clear title to the machines, unless we don’t want them, at which time we can ask Duke to remove them,” she said.