County receives grant to install two electric vehicle chargers

The County will install new electric vehicle (EV) chargers at two sites using a grant received from the Charged for Change program.

“The lack of charging infrastructure is often a source a frustration for people visiting the County and a barrier to transitioning away from carbon-emitting personal vehicles,” said Mayor Steve Ferguson. “We are extremely happy to be granted funding from the Charged for Change program. It will help us mitigate the current issue of public EV charger accessibility and meet the County’s climate and sustainability goals.”

The County was selected one of seven communities to receive the Charged for Change grant administered and sponsored by Earth Day Canada, with the financial support of AVIVA Canada.

The program supports the installation of Level 2 chargers in communities underserved with EV charging infrastructure.

The County will receive $99,674 in grant funding to cover 100 per cent of the project budget, including equipment, installation, site prep/restoration and municipal labour.

The municipality will install the chargers at the Prince Edward Community Centre in Picton and the Wellington and District Community Centre. The cost to charge at the public stations has not yet been determined.

The two new Level 2 chargers is part of the municipality’s broader efforts to expand EV charging capacity across Prince Edward County.

There is currently no functioning, publicly-accessible EV charging infrastructure in The County. The unit installed in the King Street parking lot in Picton is not functioning and needs to be replaced entirely. While a number of accommodators and wineries have electric vehicle charging infrastructure, this infrastructure is primarily available to paying guests of these businesses.

The municipality is currently exploring options to install multiple publicly accessible DC Fast (Level 3) chargers in the County under no-capital cost arrangements in which the supplier receives a percentage of revenue for investment of about $500,000 or more for all required capital costs including site preparation, hardware, software, installation, etc per site. The County anticipates releasing a Request for Proposals next month.