Fostoria to receive first electric vehicle charging station

The city of Fostoria has received a reservation award letter from the American Electric Power Ohio EV Charging Incentive Program for $100,000 to be used to install a DC Fast Charging unit for electric vehicles in the Dell's parking lot in Downtown Fostoria, the Seneca Regional Planning Commission said Tuesday afternoon in a press release. Installation is proposed to start in late March and be completed by the end of July, the release said. The Seneca Regional Planning Commission applied to the AEP EV Charging Station Incentive Program on behalf of Fostoria, according to the release, and subsequently received formal notification of the reservation award from AEP. "An electric charging station in Fostoria is a small infrastructure project that is certainly needed as we see more and more electric vehicles on the road," Mayor Eric Keckler said in a text message. "We want to be able to offer them services in Fostoria that you find in larger cities." The release said the planning commission has been in communication with ABM Electrical Power Solutions to revise the quote that was received in 2019 and requested a new quote from Buckeye IT Services. Once both quotes are received, they will be reviewed based on the requirements of the grant. The grant covers the purchase of the equipment, installation, warranties, network requirements and signage, with the total cost for the project being $100,000.. Fostoria will have an installation provider install one Level 3 -DC Fast Charging Unit, according the release This unit will enable an electric vehicle to charge to 80 percent of the battery within 30 minutes. It requires 480 V service. The release said the charging station is equipped with two power modules that deliver up to 62.3 kilowatts to a vehicle. The charging station will support legacy and future battery packs from 200 to 1,000 volts. The release said Fostoria sees this as not only a service to the citizens of Fostoria, but an opportunity for a positive economic impact. The city of Tiffin received this grant in 2020 to install two DC Fast Charging Stations. Before the installation in Tiffin, the closest charging station of this capacity was in Bowling Green, according to the release. Having a fast-charging station will put Fostoria on the map in the ChargePoint mobile application, the release said, allowing visitors to the community a place to charge their vehicle and explore the downtown area to visit restaurants and other businesses while their vehicle is charging.