By Chad Ingram

Algonquin Highlands councillors have agreed with a recommendation that the first municipally owned electric vehicle charging station in the township will be located in the stretch of township facilities along North Shore Road.

As part of its climate change mitigation plan, the County of Haliburton has applied to funding programs to help fund charging stations for the county and its four, lower-tier municipalities.

As for the funding framework, a report from county climate change co-ordinator Korey McKay contained two options. One option entails using The Ivy Network, jointly owned by Hydro One and Ontario Power Generation. Under that option there would be no upfront costs for municipalities, but an average annual servicing fee of $3,300 for each two-portal station. The report indicated service would range between $2,400 and $4,000, depending on the location of the charging stations.
The cost of electricity would come in addition to this, at approximately $1 to $2.50 per hour. This cost is typically recouped from the public via user fees. Installation would take place in summer or fall of this year.

A second option would entail the municipalities themselves owning the charging stations. Dual-port Level 2 charging stations cost between $15,000 and $25,000, with up to $10,000 of this expenditure recoverable through the funding program. Ongoing service costs would be between $500 and $1,800 per unit per year, with the cost of electricity covered through user fees. Installation would take place between September of 2021 and September of 2023.

The report contains recommendations for six initial installation sites within the county, that could be used for municipal fleet vehicles as well as by members of the public, including the Algonquin Highlands complex along North Shore Road.  
“That’s why the North Shore Road location was chosen, because hopefully we will be moving toward electric vehicles ourselves,” said Mayor Carol Moffatt.

Councillors agreed on the proposed location, leaving it to staff to determine the exact location within the span of municipally owned facilities along North Shore Road.
Councillors said they preferred the first funding option involving The Ivy Network, since it has fewer upfront costs and also leaves servicing to the company.

“At the end of the day, someone who knows what they’re doing is doing it,” said Councillor Julia Shortreed.

Councillor Jennifer Dailloux noted that with rapidly evolving technology, were the township to purchase charging stations itself, it could end up with outdated stations before long.

The township will use modernization funding from the provincial government to fund its share of costs.