Boulder County's Free EV Chargers Are Not Free Anymore
Boulder County's public Level 2 ChargePoint stations in Longmont quietly switched from free to paid. Here is what the new pricing structure actually costs compared to what I was paying before.
I was at Longmont Pride today and pulled up to a Boulder County ChargePoint station to top off the Solterra. The app showed pricing I had not seen before. The Boulder County SV HUB Level 2 stations, which I had used for free multiple times in late 2024, now have an active rate structure. Not a dramatic number on its own, but a meaningful shift for anyone who relied on these stations as a cost-free charging stop during Longmont errands.
Here is what the pricing now looks like, and what it means in real terms compared to my historical sessions there.
The New Pricing Structure
BOULDER COUNTY / SV HUB PUBLIC — 522 Terry St, Longmont Prices set by Boulder County, CO
| Charge | Rate |
|---|---|
| Energy rate | $1.00 / hour |
| Time rate: first 4 hr 10 min | $0.00 / hour |
| Time rate: after 4 hr 10 min | $15.00 / hour |
| Maximum cost | $45.00 / session |
| Guest fee | $0.99 / session |
A few things to unpack here. The energy rate is billed by time, not by kWh. At a typical Level 2 delivery rate of around 5.5 kW on the Solterra, that $1.00/hour energy charge works out to roughly $0.18/kWh in energy cost alone, before the guest fee.
The time penalty after 4 hours and 10 minutes is the part worth paying attention to. Once you cross that threshold, the station adds $15.00/hour on top of the existing $1.00/hour energy rate. That is a combined rate of $16.00/hour, which at 5.5 kW delivery works out to approximately $2.91/kWh. That is expensive enough to put DC fast charging at Zero6 Energy ($0.52/kWh) in a favorable light by comparison.
Set a timer. If you park at a Boulder County SV HUB station, the math changes hard at the 4h10m mark. Under the 4-hour window, this is one of the cheaper L2 options in Longmont. Over it, it is one of the most expensive options anywhere on the ChargePoint network.
The Level 1 Chargers Are Still Free
Before going further: the BCHHSS Spoke Level 1 stations at 518 Coffman St are still priced at $0.00. These are Level 1 chargers, so delivery is slow (roughly 1.4 kW), but if you are parking for an extended time and have no urgency, they are still available at no cost.
The pricing change applies to the Level 2 SV HUB stations, not the Level 1 infrastructure.
What My Historical Sessions Would Cost Today
I used Boulder County public stations four times between November and December 2024, all at $0.00. Here is what those same sessions would cost under the current rate structure.
| Date | Station | Duration | kWh | Was | Would Be Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/16/2024 | SV HUB PUBLIC 1 | 34m 45s | 3.356 | $0.00 | $1.58 |
| 11/30/2024 | SV HUB PUBLIC 2 | 2h 16m 25s | 13.453 | $0.00 | $3.26 |
| 12/25/2024 | SV HUB PUBLIC 1 | 18m 29s | 1.789 | $0.00 | $1.30 |
| 12/28/2024 | FAIRGRND PUBLIC | 19m 36s | 1.800 | $0.00 | $1.32 |
| Total | 20.4 kWh | $0.00 | $7.46 |
The “Would Be Now” column assumes the $1.00/hour energy rate plus the $0.99 guest fee. No session above crossed the 4h10m threshold, so no time penalty applies to any of them.
Effective Rate Per kWh Under the New Pricing
| Date | kWh | Cost at New Rates | Effective $/kWh |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/16/2024 | 3.356 | $1.58 | $0.471 |
| 11/30/2024 | 13.453 | $3.26 | $0.242 |
| 12/25/2024 | 1.789 | $1.30 | $0.727 |
| 12/28/2024 | 1.800 | $1.32 | $0.733 |
The guest fee is what makes short sessions expensive on a per-kWh basis. The $0.99 flat charge is a large fraction of a 15-minute session. The longer 2h16m session comes out to $0.242/kWh, which is actually cheaper than UCAR’s $0.25/kWh energy rate. The math only favors the Boulder County rate when you’re parking for over an hour.
How It Compares to Other Local Options
For context on where Boulder County’s new rate lands relative to what I have paid at other ChargePoint stations in the area:
| Station | Type | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Longmont Power (home) | — | $0.1057/kWh | Cheapest by far |
| UCAR/NCAR MESA LAB | L2 | $0.25/kWh | Time penalty after 4 hours |
| Boulder County SV HUB | L2 | $1.00/hr + $0.99 | ~$0.18/kWh energy if you stay 4h10m |
| Zero6 Energy / In-N-Out | DC Fast | $0.52/kWh | No time penalty |
| Electrify America (pre-tax) | DC Fast | ~$0.50/kWh | Variable reliability |
The Boulder County rate is not unreasonable if you are staying close to the full 4-hour window. A 4h10m session delivers roughly 22.9 kWh at $5.16 total ($0.225/kWh effective), which is actually competitive with UCAR L2. For short stops under an hour, the guest fee pushes the effective rate well above what you would pay at the UCAR network.
What Changed and When
The last free Boulder County session in my data is December 28, 2024. I did not use the SV HUB stations again between then and today, so I cannot pinpoint exactly when the pricing went live. The change was not announced in any ChargePoint notification I received, and there was nothing visible from the parking lot that indicated the pricing model had shifted. If I had not checked the ChargePoint app before plugging in, I would have found out on my receipt instead.
Boulder County rolling out a cost recovery structure for their public Level 2 infrastructure is not surprising. Operating public EV charging is not free, and the trend across public agencies in Colorado has been to move from free to paid as usage increases. The BCHHSS Level 1 chargers remaining free while the higher-demand Level 2 stations shift to paid is a reasonable tiering approach.
Practical Notes for Longmont EV Drivers
- Always check the station pricing in the ChargePoint app before plugging in. Public agency pricing can change without visible signage updates at the station.
- If you are parking for under 30 minutes, the guest fee makes Boulder County SV HUB expensive on a per-kWh basis. Consider the free Level 1 chargers at 518 Coffman if you have more time and less urgency.
- The 4h10m free time window is the key number. If you are parking for a long errand or an event like Pride, staying under that threshold keeps the effective rate competitive with UCAR L2.
- The time penalty after 4h10m is steep. $16.00/hour combined rate means you hit the $45 session cap in just under 7 hours total. Do not park and forget.
Bottom Line
Boulder County’s SV HUB Level 2 stations in Longmont are no longer free. The new rate is $1.00/hour for energy plus a $0.99 guest fee, with a $15.00/hour time penalty after 4 hours and 10 minutes. For sessions in the 1 to 4 hour range, the effective per-kWh rate is reasonable compared to other local L2 options. For short stops or sessions that run past the time threshold, it gets expensive quickly. The Level 1 chargers at 518 Coffman remain free.
Check your app before you plug in. The network is not always consistent about surfacing pricing changes at the station screen.
More EV charging data from the Longmont and Boulder area: EV Charging Optimization in Colorado