Dear Editor,
Re: “Demand for EVs, charging stations soars,” News, May 19.
I appreciate John Roston highlighting the inadequate plan for public chargers the city is pursuing.
As a recent new owner of a VW ID4 electric vehicle, we quickly realized the current charging infrastructure is problematic. Community centres and city facilities accessible to the public generally have the capacity to charge between two to four vehicles at a time, yet deter charging more than about 50 km (Level 2 chargers) with a hefty 250 per cent disincentive fee beyond the first two hours.
For comparison, Vancouver charges a fraction of this with no disincentive. Level 3 chargers are designed for quick charging (up to 100km in 20 minutes) yet I’ve only seen one such charger at King George Park. Does the city really want to encourage adoption of EVs as part of its climate action plan or have they just been misguided by not engaging with EV owners?
In the last year, B.C. has seen a 44 per cent increase in registered EVs at 80,000 with a BC Hydro forecast of this growing to 350,000 by the end of this decade.
If not for Tesla’s dedicated network of chargers for their owners, we would have a more serious problem right now. The city has a wonderful opportunity to take a leadership role in supporting climate goals by getting the right network of chargers in place now.
The B.C. and federal governments are currently offering to pay up to 75 per cent of the cost of new EV chargers. This is something both the City of Richmond, residents and strata corporations should jump on fast since the limited budget is relatively small.
Jerome Dickey
RICHMOND
