BC Hydro is looking into the idea of taking over District of Sechelt’s EV fast charger at the Trail Bay Centre.
Councillors were scheduled to revisit the idea of charging for the use of the Level 3 EV charging station at the June 26 committee of the whole meeting, but Ben Currie, the district’s manager of financial services, asked for the discussion to be put on hold because of new information from BC Hydro.
“[They] informed me of Hydro’s interest in taking over the ownership, operations and all costs for the fast charging station,” Currie told the committee. “With the charging station being located on private property, this provides the opportunity for the district to take a step back.”
Currie’s initial report suggested a fee of 35 cents per kilowatt hour, which would translate to about $3 for an average charging session.
According to the district, use of the fast charging station at the Trail Bay Centre parking lot near the municipal hall has gone up 406 per cent since 2015. The number of charging sessions more than doubled between 2017 and 2018, from 687 to 1,762.
The staff report puts the operating cost of the fast charger at $960 annually, made up of $700 for electricity and $260 for system software that manages the charges and tracks data, as well as general maintenance.
A fee of 35 cents per kilowatt hour would cover electricity costs and bring in about $1,000 every year for maintenance and other expenses.
The committee voted in favour of putting the idea on hold and Currie told councillors he’ll get more details from BC Hydro about how a transfer of ownership might work and bring forward a new report.
The district is not considering a fee at this point for the Level 2 charging stations that it owns.
