- American wholesale giant Costco is ramping up efforts in the EV charging space.
- It partnered with Electrify America to install 350 kW stalls in three states.
Costco, America’s largest wholesaler and the third-largest retailer in the world, is ramping up its efforts to install fast chargers for electric vehicles at its stores in the United States. The retail giant has partnered with Electrify America to open five ultra-fast EV charging stations in three states.
The move comes after a cautious entry into the DC fast-charging world earlier this year for Costco, a company that’s widely known for its gas discounts. The retailer said last year that it has no plans to add EV chargers at its stores, but then stated in its 2023 climate action plan that it wants to install fast chargers at 20 undisclosed locations during an undisclosed period.
The five stations are co-branded by Costco and Electrify America. They offer between 6 and 14 stalls, and all are capable of delivering up to 350 kilowatts of power.
The stations are integrated into Electrify America’s network, so customers can use the operator’s smartphone app to find stalls and pay for charging sessions, but the pricing is set by Costco, which also owns the stations.
The largest station from this collaboration has 14 DC fast chargers and is located at 4107 Sierra College Boulevard in Loomis, California. Two stations with 10 stalls are up and running in Pleasanton and Sacramento in California. Two other stations, with six stalls each, are operational in Clermont, Florida, and Denver, Colorado. The latter was quietly inaugurated last year.
Besides these Electrify America stalls, Costco also partnered with Seattle-based Electric Era to install 200 kW stalls at its warehouse store in Ridgefield, Washington. The dispensers are branded Costco and have built-in batteries to keep the lights on when grid power goes out and to make the best of off-peak electricity rates.
The DC fast chargers found at Costco parking lots have CCS1 connectors, so Tesla drivers will need an adapter to use them. At the Electric Era stalls in Ridgefield, California, it costs 29 cents/kWh to charge, according to PlugShare. At the Electrify America-installed stalls, the price is 46 cents/kWh.
