Sarnia seeking grant money to install electric vehicle charging stations

City hall is willing to fund electric vehicle charging stations in Sarnia again, the idea sparked by a new provincial grant program.

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Council authorized city staff at its Jan. 15 meeting to apply to the Transportation Ministry’s ChargeON program, with Clearwater Arena, the downtown Vendome parking lot, and Canatara Park as potential sites for charging stations.

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The grant program provides between $7,500 and $150,000 per port, depending on how fast they charge, and up to 75 per cent of total project costs, information from the ministry says.

Council approved the city engineering staff recommendation to set aside $75,000 maximum from the capital infrastructure reserve for the potential expense.

Four Level 2 spaces each could go at park and arena locations, and one faster, Level 3 charging station downtown, staff proposes in a report.

Other potential locations include Tecumseh Park, the Strangway Centre, downtown library and the waterfront Bayshore parking lot.

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No locations, nor the amount of charging stations, have been determined yet.

Lack of charging infrastructure generally in Sarnia and elsewhere means municipalities need to act, said Coun. Terry Burrell

“I don’t like it … (but) until the whole industry can get its act together, I think we have to keep pushing it along,” he said, noting even the types of plugs aren’t standardized.

Coun. Anne Marie Gillis agreed the existing system is “patchwork.

“And if government doesn’t get involved and try and standardize this whole process, it won’t happen,” she said.

There are 20 public charging stations available at businesses and other organizations at 11 locations in Sarnia, up from about 13 four years ago, city officials said.

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The city installed a Level 2 charging station in 2017 in the Charlotte Street parking lot near city hall. But, after generating $530 in revenue on about 80 charges in two years, council pulled the plug and opted to sell the unit in 2020.

“The last time we installed an EV charger it was a big failure,” said Coun. Bill Dennis, who was the lone vote against applying for the grants.

“Even though there is a grant, it will still cost us very real money and very real (staff) time for the city to compete against private-sector vendors,” he said.

Any stations under the provincial grant program would be in place for five years minimum and would cost $3,000 to $4,000 a year in operations and maintenance, the staff report says.

Units likely would last 10 years, it says.

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Users pay to use the chargers, with Level 2 stations costing about $1 to $2 an hour, and Level 3 stations about $15 an hour, the report says.

Even with a fee, stations in Sarnia likely would cost to operate, instead of bringing in profit for the city, until electric vehicle use increases, the report says.

Burrell suggested the city should aim for Level 3 charging stations.

Mayor Mike Bradley, who added he “wholeheartedly” supports applying for the grants, recalled the Charlotte Street station “was like something out of The Flintstones.

“You had to charge for like eight hours,” he said.

Coun. Brian White said the city also could benefit from on-street electric-vehicle parking spots and suggested discussing options with electric vehicle users.

“I think we could make tremendous inroads in providing something that makes sense for our community,” he said.

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