Toccoa To Get Electric Car Charging Station

Downtown Toccoa plans to add a charging station for electric cars.

The city’s Downtown Development Authority recently received a grant from the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority through its “Charge Georgia” program to help pay for the cost of installing the electric car charging station.

Toccoa City Manager Billy Morse said the unit will cost a total of about $10,000 to put in and the grant will cover half of the cost, with the Downtown Development Authority covering the other half of the cost.

Morse said the unit will be able to charge two cars at a time and will be located in the parking lot at the historic train depot on Alexander Street in downtown Toccoa.

Toccoa Mayor Gail Fry said the hope is that it will serve as a draw for those in other areas with electric cars.

“We feel that by doing that people that have the electric cars can charge their car, go out in the city, have lunch, visit the museum, go back, get their car, and be a stop on their way to another destination,” said Fry.

City officials said that similar charging stations have shown to be successful in places like Clayton and at the outlets in Banks Crossing.

Morse said the goal is to have the unit installed and operational next month.

He said the city will own the unit, which will work like a gas pump for electric cars.

According to Morse, a company called Chargepoint, that manages a similar setup in Banks Crossing, will manage the operations of the charging station through a card system for users.