EV Charger and Robotaxi Charging Installation in Seattle, WA

Seattle lists 1,586 public Level 2 and 143 DC fast ports in AFDC data pulled Oct 14, 2026; with only about 8% of ports fast, Level 2 dominates and fast charging is the gap.

Tech offices in South Lake Union, apartments on Capitol Hill and in Ballard, and hospitals on First Hill suit Level 2. Fast charging fits delivery fleets in SoDo and the Duwamish industrial area and rideshare heading to SEA.

Our Seattle EV charging station installation guide covers the service; this page adds City Light's rebate tiers, the city data and the depot plan.

Older buildings on Queen Anne and First Hill often have tight garages, so wall-mounted units save space.

Seattle has 641 public stations holding 1,586 Level 2 and 143 DC fast ports, per AFDC data pulled Oct 14, 2026.

That is about eleven Level 2 ports per fast port, so the city's fast network is the thinner part of the picture.

We refresh this figure monthly in the ports-by-metro research table.

The 641 stations average 2.7 ports. Many older apartment buildings in Capitol Hill and Ballard have no garage charging, which leaves residents relying on workplace and public Level 2.

Seattle City Light, the city-owned utility, pays for hardwired Level 2 at 50% up to $25,000 or 100% up to $50,000 per site, and for fast charging at 50% up to $100,000 or 100% up to $200,000.

The 100% tier applies to sites that meet City Light's eligibility rules; we confirm the tier before design. The program was open as of Oct 14, 2026.

City Light also reviews capacity, and a new transformer usually sets the start date.

At the first visit we ask for a year of City Light bills and the panel schedule to see how much capacity is left.

SDCI sets 8–12 week targets for review. NEC Article 625 is the national wiring standard for chargers, and the Access Board publishes the accessibility guidance.

Seattle sets required parking by use, with reductions in some areas. We check the requirement before converting stalls.

SDCI publishes 8–12 weeks, among the longer reviews on this list, so we file early and order equipment once the permit is in sight.

City Light's Business EV Charging program leads; Washington's state programs are listed on the AFDC page.

The IRS Instructions for Form 8911 close the federal 30C credit to chargers placed in service after June 30, 2026, so Seattle budgets now leave it out.

At the 100% tier, City Light can cover a whole Level 2 project up to its cap.

City Light's rebates come first; Washington programs on the AFDC page can add to them, and we recheck both before ordering.

Twelve Seattle Level 2 ports run about $53,300 to $120,000 installed and four DC fast ports about $222,000 to $667,000, before City Light's rebate, by our estimate.

Seattle's BEA index is 111.1, well above the national average. We scale national per-port costs and AFDC's installation guidance to it; slopes and garage installs add cost.

Once the permit issues, we plan 8–16 weeks for Level 2 on an existing panel and 26–52 weeks for fast charging that needs new service (Wins estimates).

Per port, Seattle comes to about $4,442 to $10,000 for Level 2 and $55,500 to $166,750 for fast charging before City Light's rebates, by our estimate. Garage retrofits and long conduit runs in older buildings push costs up.

Each Seattle port reports to our operations team, which sets prices, applies idle fees after a short grace period, clears faults and enforces charging stalls, then sends owners a monthly summary.

Wet weather wears connectors, so seals are inspected on a schedule.

More on how this works: EV charging parking management, and our Seattle parking management page.

Sea-Tac's normals show a coldest-month low near 37°F, 6.3 inches of snow a year and only 4 months averaging lows at or above 50°F. Rain is the steady factor, so we drain pads, seal conduit entries and inspect connectors through the wet season.

Seattle's 1,586 Level 2 ports are more than double Portland's 603, about 145 miles south, per AFDC data pulled Oct 14, 2026.

Seattle and Portland are both on Waymo's "Up next" list, and both utilities, City Light and PGE, pay business charger rebates.

Boise, about 406 miles southeast, has 136 public Level 2 ports and no utility rebate.