KANSAS CITY, Mo. — City leaders have a bright idea and supporters hope it will energize the use of electric vehicles across Kansas City.

The city is working with Evergy and the Metropolitan Energy Center to test out a new pilot program and curbside electric vehicle charging network.

The city added nearly two dozen EV charging stations at existing on-street parking locations. The ports are linked into the city’s streetlight system, allowing the charging stations to rely on current infrastructure.

The idea is to provide places where anyone is able to charge an electric vehicle.

Supporters say the curbside chargers give renters or people living in apartments the ability to charge electric vehicles close to home.

“The purpose of this is to make sure electric car charging infrastructure is accessible and available to everyone in all neighborhoods. One of the biggest barriers to electric car ownership is trying to find a place to charge,” Brian Platt, City Manager, said.

The new charging stations are installed across all six districts in Kansas City, Missouri, with additional EV charging stations planned in additional areas in the future.

The location of each charging station can be found by downloading the Charge Point app. The app will also provide the speed of charging and what it would cost to charge the EV.