Costco and Electrify America are including electrical car charging stations in three states

Costco, which gave up offering electric vehicle charging 12 years ago, is seriously considering resuming the service.

More than a month ago, the wholesaler re-branded itself on a DC fast-charging station in Ridgefield, Washington, manufactured by Electric Era.

And now Costco is partnering with Electrify America, the largest charging network in the U.S., to offer fast charging for electric vehicles at five new locations in California, Colorado and Florida. The stations are accessible to almost all electric vehicle brands and offer DC fast charging speeds of up to 350 kilowatts.

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Because the chargers will be part of the Electrify America network, drivers will be able to find them in the Electrify America app and pay for the service. Meanwhile, Costco, known for its discount gas stations, will set prices.

At this point, it remains unclear whether Costco will continue its EV charging expansion with Electric Era or Electrify America, or a combination of both.

While the Electric Era station offers slower charging speeds of up to 200 kilowatts, it has other features that could prove attractive depending on your location. The Ridgefield station was installed in just seven weeks and has built-in battery storage. This allows for lower electricity rates and the ability to maintain operations even if the power grids fail.

Costco may also be testing the water and considering its options. Rival Walmart announced last year that it would build its own fast-charging network for electric vehicles, in addition to the deals it already has with Electrify America.

In the US, electric vehicle charging infrastructure has grown rapidly in recent years, led by Tesla's SuperCharger network as well as Electrify America, Chargepoint and the Rivian Adventure network.

Charging infrastructure also received a major boost from a just-announced initiative by the Biden administration and a private consortium of charging networks, automakers and other mid-tier players. The consortium says it will launch a universal plug-and-charge protocol in 2025 to allow all electric vehicles to easily plug in and charge at all public stations in the United States.

This is good news for existing electric car drivers, but also for those who are thinking about buying an electric car. In a recent study, research firm Accenture cited charging infrastructure as one of the top three reasons stopping many from purchasing an electric vehicle – the other two being high upfront costs and potential lifestyle disruption.