The Dixon City Council approved an agreement Monday, Nov. 17, with a utility company that will bring an electric vehicle charging station to the city.

The charging station is planned to be located in the parking lot off East River Road on the southeast end of the Galena Avenue bridge in Dixon. It’ll be two pieces of equipment with four level-3 charging ports, which are the fastest chargers currently on the market. It’s expected to be completed by the end of December.

“I think it will draw some people into our downtown, off the interstate, because there are not a lot of level-3 chargers out there yet,” Dixon Mayor Glen Hughes said.

On a level-3 charger, it takes about an hour and a half for most vehicles to reach a substantial amount of charge, leaving ample time for customers to make the short walk to Dixon’s downtown, Hughes said.

Under the agreement, ComEd, northern Illinois’ major electric utility company, will be responsible for installing the equipment, the costs associated with that and the costs of maintenance for three years after the charging stations are set up.

Hughes said city officials will need to decide on charging prices and intends to have it be consistent with the current market.

“The general market in this area seems to be in the 30 to 40 cents a kilowatt-per-hour basis,” Hughes said. With level-3 chargers, it could cost about $20 an hour.