Although most charging of plug-in vehicles will occur at home or a fleet location, there will be times when you may want or need to charge at a publicly accessible charging station.  Perhaps you are interested in simply topping off your battery while out running an errand, or it’s a necessary fueling stop as part of your travels.  In these situations, a 240-volt level 2 charging station, or perhaps a DC fast charging station, can help provide the charge you need in a reasonable amount of time.

The Department of Energy, through the Alternative Fuel Data Center, is helping lead the way in creating a centralized database to list of publicly accessible charging stations.  This database can help individual drivers search for charging stations and also serves to feed information to third parties such as auto manufacturers, navigation providers, and others that in turn may provide the data through their own applications.

Please note that the cost to park, charge, and availability of the parking space vary based on the brand of charging station and the host site, so be sure to do your research before relying on access to any one station.