Three new electric vehicle chargers now in service

The new EV charger is located behind the bus shelter at the Bloomfield parking lot. The 5×10 shelter was built in 2022 using provincial funding in support of the County Transit system.

Three new electric vehicle (EV) chargers are now operational in parking lots at Bloomfield, Picton and Wellington.

The County was one of seven communities to receive a Charged for Change grant for installation of Level 2 chargers delivered by Earth Day Canada, funded by Aviva Insurance. The County received $99,675.

The new EV charges are located at the parking lots at Bloomfield Main Street (one charging head), Crystal Palace, just inside the Picton Fairgrounds and at the Wellington and District Community Centre (both with two charging heads).

Work to finish the EV charging sites, including additional signage and seating areas, is to continue in the coming months.

These three municipal chargers are Level 2 chargers on the Flo network. The cost to charge is $2.25 per hour which can be paid through the Flo app or by credit card. Vehicles not actively charging, or that are parked for more than four hours, may be fined $125.

By 2035, all light-duty cars and trucks sold in Canada must be zero-emission. In response, the municipality is in early stages of developing a County-wide electric vehicle charging infrastructure plan.

The municipality continues to explore options to install multiple publicly accessible DC Fast (Level 3) chargers in the County.

Last year, County staff suggested issuing a request for proposals of a no-capital cost arrangement for level 3 chargers in at least two locations in exchange for a percentage of revenues. In this type of arrangement, the supplier would invest all required capital costs including site preparation, hardware, software, installation, etc., –  then quoted at a cost of approximately $500,000 or more per site.

The level 3 (faster) charger at the King Street Picton parking lot, installed in 2017, was removed late last year as it was no longer operational or serviced by the manufacturer. It was put in place as part of the province’s $20 million Green Investment Fund to expand charging infrastructure across the province with 24 public and private sector partners.

While a number of accommodators and wineries have electric vehicle charging infrastructure, they are primarily available to paying guests of those businesses.