Public EV charging stations coming to Norfolk

Luke Edwards

Advocate Correspondent

Referees can put their whistles away, this is one kind of charging call that doesn’t lead to two minutes in the sin bin.

Norfolk County was successful in four of seven applications to receive provincial funding that will help install level two electric vehicle charging stations at sites around the county. The successful applications were for the arenas in Delhi, Langton and Port Dover, as well as the Port Rowan Community Centre.

Staff made the applications to the ChargeON program that’s offered through the Ministry of Transportation. Norfolk will be receiving $120,000 in total, which is the maximum amount per charging station it can receive through the program. 

“The program offers funding up to 75 per cent of total project cost with the primary goal of expanding the availability of public EV charging stations and improving the accessibility, affordability and connectivity in rural areas across Ontario,” said Sydney Clarysse, project lead for energy and facilities with the County. All told, the installation is expected to cost $160,000, with $120,000 in grants and $40,000 coming out of the New/Incremental capital reserve.

EV drivers will have to pay to use the chargers, starting at $2.15 per hour. And while they’re intended for public use, a staff report said they’ll also be available for staff use should the County “pursue an EV fleet expansion in the future.”

While councillors supported the project, Coun. Mike Columbus questioned the reasoning behind the selected locations.

“I wonder why arenas, and not some place downtown… where if you had to charge your vehicle you’d go uptown for a coffee or something,” he said.

“We mostly chose arenas because these are level two chargers, which means it’ll take a couple hours to get an adequate charge,” replied Clarysse. The locations they chose will allow users to either go for a walk or go in to watch a hockey game to pass the couple hours before their car is ready to go.