Point Edward benefiting from provincial EV charging station program

The number of electric vehicle charging stations in Point Edward is expected to increase.

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“This is great,” said Mayor Bev Hand, after Ontario’s Energy and Electrification Ministry announced this week the village is receiving three of 1,300 new charging stations, being rolled out provincially through a $63-million EV ChargeON program.

Currently, the village has four ports at three locations, according to chargehub.com. They’re at Lambton Public Health, Tourism Sarnia-Lambton, and the Sarnia Duty Free store at the Blue Water Bridge.

Three of the fastest charging Level 3 stations are planned for the Four Points by Sheraton hotel in Point Edward, Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey announced in a recent news release.

“I’m proud to be delivering three new EV charging stations in Point Edward to make life easier and more convenient for drivers,” Bailey said in the release.

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Details from hotel officials weren’t immediately available.

Demand for charging stations is growing as the number of people driving electric vehicles increases, Hand said, noting she recently had to refer a visiting developer from Hamilton to the Tourism Sarnia-Lambton station.

“This is what’s happening as more and more people are going to electric cars,” she said, adding Point Edward “can say we’re fortunate we came out on the winning end of getting three of them.”

Neighboring Sarnia wasn’t as lucky.

Sarnia applied unsuccessfully for eight Level 3 chargers, to be split evenly between Clearwater Community Center, Strangway Center, Pat Stapleton Arena and the Bayshore parking lot, said city spokesperson Steve Henschel.

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City hall received word Nov. 12 Sarnia’s application wasn’t among those selected to move forward, he said.

A spokesperson with Energy Minister Stephen Lecce’s office said the province used “geographic determiners” to decide the best locations for the publicly owned chargers and will work with local businesses, municipalities and other applicants to install them.

Expect chargers to start coming online in a year or two, the spokesperson said, noting the program is meant for communities with 170,000 or fewer people and Indigenous communities.

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

The 1,300 chargers, including 190 ports in northern Ontario, are going to 270 sites across the province, including arenas, hospitals, parks and recreation centers, the spokesperson with Lecce’s office said.

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