On Wednesday, officials from Ogden City and Rocky Mountain Power cut the ribbon on eight fast electric vehicle charging stations located in the station’s north parking lot.

During the preceding ceremony, Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski said there was something appropriate about the charging stations being implemented at Union Station.

“This campus at Union Station, this is where everything began and everything ended in Ogden — around transportation and also around the energy that created this city,” he said. “It was a different type of energy then, but it always comes back to energy. Ogden is at a point today where we are going to leverage the past in order to prepare for the future. These chargers represent that exact thing.”

He said the chargers also represent choice and opportunity.

“Everybody that comes to Ogden or lives in Ogden has the right and the ability to make the choice that is right for them,” he said. “It gives them the ability to be their best. That’s what these do.”

Earlier this month, Ogden City Communications Director Mike McBride told the Standard-Examiner that the charging stations at Union Station — which were a collaboration between the city and Rocky Mountain Power — are optimized for interstate travelers and locals alike.

“Rocky Mountain Power approached Ogden City about installing Level 3 rapid-charging stations somewhere in Ogden more than a year ago,” he said. “Union Station was selected as a prime location because of quick access from anywhere downtown, as well as access to (Interstate 15) for commuters who are traveling through or past Ogden. Union Station was also a prime site because of access to an adequate power supply and parking. The project is fully funded by Rocky Mountain Power, with the location being supplied by Ogden City.”

Ogden City Council Chair Marcia White also spoke at Wednesday’s ceremony, saying the opening of these charging stations reverses a trend that long worried her.

“Early on, I said I was so tired of watching all of these electric vehicles drive right on by Ogden City because they had nowhere to stop,” she said. “Now they have a place to stop. They can get out, charge their electric car, go down and enjoy our 25th Street and access our retail and restaurants.”

James Campbell,  director of innovation and sustainability policy at Rocky Mountain Power, said the project was a long time coming.

“We’ve been talking about doing this for almost 10 years now,” he said. “It’s really exciting to really see a how a concept  finally come to fruition.”

He said the Ogden charging stations are only part of the beginning of EV charging in the state of Utah.

“You can’t just build an EV charging system by itself; it really has to be a part of a network,” he said. “This is part of our second phase where we initially put in four charging sites last year — one in Salt Lake County, one in Summit County, one down in Moab and in Vernal. Now we’re really expanding that and we’re launching our second phase.”

A map at the ribbon cutting ceremony noted that Rocky Mountain Power has plans to build additional charging stations in Farmington, Woods Cross, Salt Lake City, West Valley City, Taylorsville, Draper and American Fork, among other regional cities. This complements other existing Rocky Mountain Power stations in Layton, Millcreek City and Orem.

Campbell told the Standard-Examiner a vehicle can be charged at one of the new Ogden charging stations in around 10-15 minutes depending on the vehicle. The chargers are open to the public 24/7.

“We’re rolling these out throughout the state because what we want to be able to enable is that, if you’re an EV owner, you can really go anywhere in the state,” Campbell said.

For more information on Rocky Mountain Power EV charging stations, visit https://tinyurl.com/4cjew3am.