OMAHA -- As gas prices surge, so too do options for transportation. Monday, President Joe Biden announced a five billion dollar investment into building electric vehicle charging stations across the country; to ease U.S. dependence on gas-powered cars. Now, Omaha is seeing new charging stations too.

Wednesday, Omaha Public Power District held a ceremony to celebrate the development of new electric car charging stations.

"We had in 2018, 400 electric vehicles in our service inventory. That has grown to over 1,500 today," said OPPD CEO Javier Fernandez. Fernandez told Telemundo Nebraska, the $572,000 funding for stations came from The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.

The City of La Vista officials noted they hope the development will encourage economic growth in the city.

"That's been the goal of the city council [...] we're so happy the charging station can be out here. As you know, you plan trips when you have an electric car based on where you can stop for the evening," said Mayor Douglas Kindig.

They were one of five locations chosen by OPPD based on data and research.

"It really all depends on the demand from our customer-owners," said Fernandez.

While he's confident demand will continue to grow, Kelley Blue Book estimates the average cost of an electric car is $56,437 -- a price many Americans still say they can’t afford.

On the other hand, according to records from the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles, EV ownership here in Nebraska has grown from 400 in 2018 to more than 1,500 in 2021.