By Stephen Petrick

Electric vehicle users will soon be able to power up at the Township of Algonquin Highlands office.

Council, at its Nov. 4 meeting, approved the installation of an electric vehicle charging station.

The one dual-port charging station will go up at 1123 North Shore Rd. and could be working by mid-November. The municipality will pay $4,000 annually to offer the service. It will charge drivers $2.50 per hour to use the port.

The installation fits with Haliburton County’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. Data gathered through the county’s Community Climate Action Plan, shows there are 17 electric vehicles and 12 plug-in eclectic hybrid vehicles registered to residents of Haliburton County. However, officials believe there are many more electric vehicles being driven on local roads by owners who are registered elsewhere.