In the City of Duncan, they will soon be charging for the use of their electric vehicle charging stations. That includes the four that they own, on the Highway near the TD Bank, two on Duncan Street, and one on Canada Ave.
The proposed amount is $1 for the first hour of use, plus $2 for every hour of use after. There’s no final timetable in place for implementation.
Councillor Carol Newington says she hopes it allows everyone a chance to use the stations.
“I have a lot of friends who have electric cars,” says Newington. “One of the complaints that they have when they come downtown is that the same cars are sitting at the charging station all day. Hopefully, this will assist in moving them along and letting somebody else have that opportunity.”
The pay-per-use model also offsets the costs of the EV stations to the city which has dramatically risen over the past few years.
The cost of electricity to support the charging stations when they first opened in 2018 was $1,347, but this year is on pace to eclipse $7,000. They project the funding model will contribute $12,000 to $15,000 based on current usage.
Charging for electricity isn’t unprecedented, with other municipalities on the island already doing so. The town of Comox is actually on the exact time-based funding model proposed by Duncan.
