Curbside Level 2 Electric Vehicle Charging
Example of Level 2 EV charger installed on ground level at a street curbside.
What is the Curbside Level 2 EV Charging Program?
More people in our region want to use electric vehicles (EV) to get where they need to go. Unfortunately, people who live in apartments or rely on street parking often don't have access to at-home EV chargers, which limits or prevents them from driving EVs.
That's why Seattle City Light and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) are partnering to install public curbside EV chargers, allowing more people to easily charge and drive electric vehicles. When more people can rely on EVs, we all benefit from the reduction in air and noise pollution, improving community health.
The Curbside Level 2 EV Charging Program will install chargers in Seattle that are designed for overnight residential charging through funding from the voter-approved Seattle Transportation Levy. Funding for chargers installed in City Light's service area outside Seattle will come from City Light's dedicated transportation electrification budget.
Learn more about SDOT's other electrification work funded by the Seattle Transportation Levy.
This program is an expansion of a pilot project that installed 58 public Level 2 curbside electric vehicle chargers at 31 locations throughout Seattle. Chargers installed during the pilot have seen high usage and received positive feedback from the community.
Learn more about our Public Charging Network.
What's Happening Now?
Project Update (Oct. 2026): Request a charger! Submit an application to install new curbside chargers near where you live.
Apply for an EV Charger Near Your Home
City Light and SDOT are accepting applications to install new curbside chargers near where you live. The Curbside Level 2 EV Charging Program aims to install up to 200 new public curbside charging stations in areas that need them most.
Once you submit an application, City Light and SDOT will review and select locations that meet City environmental and equity goals and address residential EV charging gaps. Selected locations must also meet the technical requirements to install a charger, including access to the proper power sources.
Criteria used to select applications include:
- Proximity to the Nearest Existing Curbside Charger - the program will prioritize new chargers in places that are not already served by curbside chargers
- Population Density - the program will prioritize areas near multifamily housing where more people can be served
- Proximity to parks, grocery stores and business - the program will use the "walk score" metric to ensure sites are nearby businesses and public amenities that lead to higher utilization Multiple Adjacent Requests - the program will select areas that ensure many nearby customers will be served
- Request from Multifamily Housing Property - the program will prioritize multifamily housing properties that have high barriers to providing residents with EV charging
- Overburdened Communities - the program will direct investment into communities that bear the highest pollution burden and have experienced underinvestment
Review our map of existing chargers to learn where City Light public chargers already exist.
Fall 2026 - 2027: Request a charger
City Light and SDOT accept applications for new curbside EV charging locations for 12 months starting in October 2026.
January 2027: Location selection begins
City Light and SDOT will review all applications and select locations that meet City environmental and equity goals and address residential EV charging gaps. Locations will be chosen in batches of 40-50 at a time, on an ongoing basis.
Spring 2027: Site design and permitting begins
Design and permitting will continue for approximately 18 months.
Fall 2027: Installation begins
Installations will take place over three years, with active construction lasting about two weeks at each location.
2028 - 2030: Chargers up and running
All chargers are expected to be installed and in service by 2030.
These curbside charging stations provide the public with access to Level 2 EV charging in residential neighborhoods in the Seattle area. City Light will own, operate, and maintain these EV chargers. Anyone who drives an EV will be able to park on the street next to the charger while charging their vehicle. The chargers are open to the public, available on a first-come, first-served basis, and cannot be reserved.
The Level 2 EV chargers installed under this program provide up to 9.6 kilowatts (kW), which can provide a typical midsize EV with up to 30 miles of range per hour of charge time. Level 2 EV chargers are frequently used for multiple hours at a time, such as when a car is parked overnight at home or while the driver is running errands or at work.
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Drivers pay a per kilowatt-hour (kWh) fee to use the chargers. The current cost to charge at our Level 2 chargers is $0.21 per kWh. One kWh provides a typical EV with enough energy to travel about three miles. The fees are designed to pay for the electricity, operations, maintenance, and repair costs while offsetting the initial purchase and installation costs. The cost to charge is updated per department policy III-1102.
Over half of all homes in Seattle are apartments or condominiums. These types of homes, along with older single-family homes and houseboats, frequently do not have off-street parking like a driveway, garage, or parking lot, making it difficult for residents to provide their own EV charging when parking on the street. Curbside chargers can fix this gap in access.
The Curbside Level 2 EV Charging Program directly supports the Transportation Electrification Strategic Investment Plan by helping to expand charging solutions for multifamily residents and renters who typically lack these options. It also increases equitable access to transportation electrification, particularly for those in underserved and underrepresented communities.
The City of Seattle set a goal to reduce transportation emissions 83% by 2030. To reach this goal, the City is encouraging residents to use low-emission travel by public transit, biking, walking, and other options. However, many will still rely on personal vehicles for some of their trips. City Light installed these chargers as part of a comprehensive portfolio of transportation electrification investments and services to increase zero-emission electric transportation options throughout the service area.
In June 2025 we completed installation of 58 public Level 2 curbside EV chargers at 31 curbside locations throughout the City of Seattle as a part of a pilot project. We are offering this service to provide access to EV charging for residents who cannot utilize off-street parking to charge their vehicles.
Learn more about our Public Charging Network.
How did we select the charger locations?
Potential charger locations were gathered in 2022 through a public submission process with more than 1,800 requests received. A panel of subject matter experts from City Light and Seattle Department of Transportation reviewed each request based on a number of criteria including location, number of requests in a given area, availability of infrastructure, and property type.
Once initial selections were made, we informed the property owners or homeowner associations for each property adjacent to and across the street from each proposed EV charging location. Recipients were encouraged to respond to an online survey to voice support or opposition to the charger and were able to ask questions or provide feedback.