The Editor,
Re: "Who pays for charging stations?" Letters, Sept. 14. Brian Summers asks who will be paying for the use of the electrical charging stations coming to Richmond in the near future.
Under British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) Electric Tariff, it's not permitted for anyone to resell electricity to the public. Therefore, electricity at recharging stations will need to be given away for free unless some genius figures out a way of getting around the Electric Tariff.
Since different power levels will be needed at electric vehicle charging stations, from 3kW to 50kW, some professional supervision will be required to avoid explosions and fires. It's not likely that private motorists will leave their vehicles unattended at a high-powered charging station for four to eight hours. The recharging vehicles will need to be secured under the supervision of trained staff.
Therefore, dear citizens, the only likely working users of municipal charging stations will be the publicly-owned vehicles within the City of Richmond because of the significant hidden expenses. For everyone else, electric cars remain a pipe dream.
However, if it does turn out that the recharging stations are open to the public, free-of-charge, I'll be amongst the first in line with my motorhome. In fact, once I'm plugged in to a free 3kW source, I might just stay there! What a gift!
RJ Burke Richmond
