REGINA – While it would be relatively affordable to provide more charging stations for electric vehicles in Regina, there aren’t enough on the road to make the cost worthwhile, according to a city report.
A proposal to install chargers at the three city leisure centres (Sportplex, Northwest and Sandra Schmirler) was quoted at $25,500 with electricity coming in at another $21,000 annually at full use.
There are 31 electric vehicles on Saskatchewan roads, according to SGI; only five are in Regina.
“There is some question as to whether there’s enough demand for that investment at this time,” said Shanie Leugner, the city’s acting director of planning.
City council requested the information in February to consider supporting charging stations in a partnership with Sun Country Highway, an organization that promotes electric vehicles and provides charging stations to businesses.
“The costs really aren’t that big, so it really comes down to whether or not we want to make a small investment to be proactive and take the opportunity to be part of the program Sun Country is promoting right now to get the electric charging stations for free,” Leugner said.
Right now, you can charge an electric vehicle at five different locations around Regina. Sun Country has chargers located at hotels (Best Western Seven Oaks Inn on Albert Street and Delta Regina downtown) and retailers (Peavey Mart in east Regina), with Northgate Mall coming on board soon.
WATCH BELOW: Regina city council is asking if we need more charging stations for electric vehicles (Feb. 24)
The report will be presented to Regina city council on Monday, but no further recommendations have been provided.
Regina’s new Transportation Master Plan doesn’t specifically mention electric vehicles or chargers, but there is a recommendation for pilot programs to “test new transportation initiatives.”
“There does seem to be a general trend toward to electric and hybrid vehicles at this time, so I think it’s very timely the City of Regina and other cities across the country are starting to talk about this,” Leugner said.
Comments