Letters to the editor for Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014

Let electric car drivers pay for their charging

While driving by the new electric car charging station that allows electric car owners to recharge for free for the next five years, it occurred to me that this subsidy is an indirect tax on Carson City taxpayers.

I can understand that electric cars from out of the city and out of state may need some place to recharge in order to return home. Electric cars, price-wise, are in the luxury class. I would guess that most of the Carson City buyers of those cars were aware that they would need a charging cable in their three or four car garages in order to accomplish overnight charging. Why should these people who chose to use the public recharging stations get the electricity free? I object to the present arrangement and would hope others would too.

There is an easy solution. All the city has to do is put a credit card swipe device in the circuits to collect the cost of electricity and add enough to amortize the cost of the instillation over two or three years. It is my hope that the city officials, reasonable for the charging station, can see the wisdom in my suggestion and avoid a trip to the courts that would make them do the right thing.

Donald W. Cunningham

Carson City