Prince Edward County is preparing for a shocking change in how people get around.
During Thursday’s Committee of the Whole meeting, it was decided to install multiple electric vehicle charging stations around Prince Edward County.
Two of the chargers are to be installed at the Wellington and District Community Centre, two more at the Prince Edward Community Centre, and a final one at the Bloomfield parking lot.
The chargers are expected to cost nearly $100,000. Prince Edward County has secured grant funding from Earth Day Canada/Aviva Charged for Change to cover the entire cost for installing level two electric vehicle chargers.
Level two chargers provide between 15 and 100 km of range per hour of charging time. Users will have to pay $2.25 an hour to charge.
Councillor Roy Pennell had some concerns with the plan to install the level two chargers.
“General Motors, Ford, and all these places are all coming out with their own. They’re going to be begging municipalities to let them put them in, in the future, and pay the municipalities to help them because they want part of the market,” said Councillor Pennell. “I don’t think it matters where we put them because I’m thoroughly convinced that time they’re in there they’re gonna be so dated it won’t be funny.”
During the staff report it was revealed that current level three chargers would be much more expensive, at $75,000 to $100,000 a charger, and would not be covered by the grant that is covering the installation of the level two chargers.
The five chargers will each take up an existing parking space at their location, and that parking space will be reserved for electric vehicle charging after the installation is complete. Vehicles will only be allowed to park there while charging, and a four-hour limit for charging will be put in place.
Those parking non-electric vehicles in these spaces, or parking electric vehicles but not connecting to the charger, will be subject to a $125 fine.
The committee approved the installation plan, and forwarded the plans to municipal council for final approval.
