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Mexico Beach installs new charging stations for electric vehicles

BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Electric vehicle owners can now charge their cars in Mexico Beach.

City officials completed the two charging stations in March. They’re located at the Mexico beach welcome center. The project started in March 2024, when Mexico Beach secured a grant from Duke Energy.

The stations were supposed to be completed earlier, but the 2024 hurricane season kept Duke Energy crews busy restoring power to the Big Bend region.

“So it did take us a little bit to get this up and going just because of some factors that were beyond everyone’s control. We’ve seen cars we’ve seen trucks. I mean, it’s been a wonderful need that has been serving the community, and we know that it’ll continue to be needed,” Mexico Beach Community Development Council President Kimberly Shoaf said.

Duke has about two dozen charging stations in their service area, including one in Apalachicola.

The average cost per kilowatt is around 43 cents a kilowatt. It works out to about the same amount as a full tank of gas.