The Spokane City Council has recently passed a law requiring the city government to purchase electric vehicles as soon as they become available.
The new law will be in accordance with Washington law, which requires cities to purchase EVs if their life-cycle cost is less than that of their gasoline-powered counterparts. To buy non-electric vehicles, the administration will have to justify the purchase to the council’s Public Infrastructure and Environmental Sustainability Committee.
This has been the city council’s most recent effort to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
However, the council has been warned that the city lacks the necessary infrastructure to sustain the sudden increase in EVs. It has also been suggested that the budget should include the cost of building charging stations as well, rather than just the cost of the vehicles themselves.
To address this issue, the city will seek to capitalize on Avista and the Spokane Regional Transportation Council, which will construct charging stations at no cost. The legislative and executive branches are currently negotiating the specifics.
The city recently purchased four Tesla Model Y vehicles for use as patrol cars in December 2020. The administration also agreed last week to test the use of five electric Hyundai Kona vehicles for parking enforcement officers.
Source: The Spokesman-Review
