Heco charges ahead Star-Bulletin staff The Hawaiian Electric Co. will unveil its first charging station to service electric vehicles Tuesday at 10 a.m. at 531 Cooke St. in Kakaako. Heco plans a total of 20 rapid-charging stations in Honolulu, which would make it the first city in the country to become "electric vehicle ready", the company said. Heco engineers are in the process of identifying other sites for rapid-charging stations. The stations will allow motorists to charge depleted batteries in less than nine minutes. "Besides the ability to 'fill up the tank' quickly, the public wants to know that they can refuel wherever they happen to be driving," said T. Michael May, Heco president and chief executive officer. "We're confident we can find a gas station when we need it. We want the same assurance for EVs." The charging stations project is receiving federal funds, as well as money from Heco; Aero Vironment, the California-based charger manufacturer; and from Hawaii Electric Vehicles Inc., a group of local entrepreneurs . "This is the final step in making Hawaii an EV-ready state," said Tom Quinn, director of the Hawaii Electric Vehicle Demonstration Project, which is part of the effort by the state's High Technology Development Corp. Each charging station costs $40,000.