If you own an electric vehicle, you could soon be paying for a charge at a Delta-owned charging station.
At a recent Climate Action and Community Livability Advisory Committee meeting, staff noted Delta now has 10 public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations throughout the city.
Staff have seen a steady increase in use of EV charging stations, with some locations more utilized than others.
Currently Delta's EV charging stations are programmed to automatically turn off after two hours of charging to encourage turnover and make the stations available to others.
Several other municipalities in the region are charging fees for use of EV charging stations and Delta staff will bring forward a similar fee structure to council for consideration, the committee was told.
The proposed fee could be in the $1 or $2 per hour range.
Delta council last summer endorsed a new electric vehicle strategy aimed at removing barriers to electric vehicle ownership.
The strategy, among other things, includes requiring up to 100 per cent of parking stalls in new multi-family buildings to provide an energized electrical outlet capable of providing Level 2 or higher electric vehicle charging, requiring one energized electrical outlet capable of providing Level 2 electric vehicle charging in all new single-family homes and require up to 100 per cent of staff parking stalls at new commercial and industrial buildings to provide an energized electrical outlet capable of providing Level 2 or higher charging.
A report to council at the time noted Delta's Community Energy and Emissions Plan states that one important way to achieve the city's greenhouse gas emission reduction targets is by increasing the availability of electric vehicle charging in the city, which promotes the purchase and use of electric vehicles.
Council earlier this year approved a staff recommendation to install additional new dual-point Level 2 (240 volt) electric vehicle charging stations throughout the community, using a grant from the federal government.
There are also a number of privately-owned Level 2 charging stations located in commercial areas available to the public
Other government agencies operate public Level 2 stations at Boundary Bay Regional Park, Annacis Research Centre, Delta Hospital and the Alaksen National Wildlife Refuge.
BC Hydro operates a DC Fast Charge station at the South Delta Recreation Centre, which effective May 1 will have a fee.
According to the province’s recently released 2020 annual zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) update, a record number of British Columbians have switched to electric vehicles (EVs) with more than 54,000 light-duty EVs registered in B.C.
The province explained that the annual ZEV update tracks British Columbia's progress respecting its zero-emission vehicle targets, and the 2020 update is the first report required under the Zero-Emission Vehicles Act, which was implemented in 2019.
