Manhattan Beach Offers Free Charging for Electric Cars

Manhattan Beach on Wednesday became the first city in the South Bay to house a public electric vehicle charging station that allows drivers to power up for free.

Hawthorne Savings Bank in the Manhattan Village Mall began using a GM EV1 electric vehicle as a company car after the car was unveiled in December.

The bank has paid $3,285 for the charging station at its front entrance in an attempt to encourage more people to drive the emission-free vehicles and support air quality improvement efforts.

“We are committed to a clean environment,” said Dave Hardin, Hawthorne Savings executive vice president. “This is a terrific and cool way to drive.”

Manufactured by General Motors, electric cars are available only in California and Arizona. If the sports coupes succeed, they will help solve the state’s air pollution problem.

California was selected as a test market for the car after state regulators passed a mandate that required 10% of all vehicles manufactured by 2003 to be emission-free. Although GM is the only manufacturer selling electric vehicles, which have a range of 90 miles and come with home-operated chargers, several auto makers also are developing such cars.

Edison EV, a subsidiary of Southern California Edison, has opened a handful of free public charging stations around the county, including two in Burbank, and equipped 15 Saturn dealerships with electric pumps.

Julie Goldstein, manager of charging infrastructure for Edison EV, said that as the car becomes more widely used, more stations will open.