Where Is Winchester's Closest Electric Car Charging Station?

Drivers who are considering a switch to electric vehicles or current vehicle owners looking for a place nearby to charge their rides have a couple of places to find their outlet.

Charging stations in the Winchester region include 4 Grant St. in Lexington, and Alewife Transit Station and Porter Square Shopping Center in Cambridge, according to crowd-sourced CarStations website. Carstations allows users to upload new car charging locations to a Google map and (when applicable) provides details on the station.

According to the site's About section, "This website is designed to encourage participation and welcomes user interaction in the form of comments, updates and user generated content."

There are also more official sites providing electric car charging information. This week, NSTAR launched a new hotline and website to provide customers with information about electric vehicles, including local options for charging, payment options and details about electric vehicle technology, according to a statement released Wednesday.

Launched in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, the new information center is a key part of a pilot program designed to help the state establish an electric vehicle infrastructure and continue efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to the NSTAR statement.

“We’re excited about the launch of our new electric vehicle information center to offer customers expert service, information and guidance about electric vehicles and vehicle charging options,” said Penni Conner, senior vice president and chief customer officer at Northeast Utilities, NSTAR’s parent company, in the statement. “NSTAR is providing a single point of contact for our customers and communities, making it easy for them to find the answers they need to make informed decisions about electric vehicles.”

The NSTAR electric vehicle information hotline can be reached at 855-463-6438 and is staffed Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition, customers can find information at the company’s new website.

The NSTAR hotline is the first of many to come, according to the statement. Northeast Utilities plans to set up similar information centers through its other companies in New England.

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