The Township of North Glengarry will install a Level 3 electric vehicle (EV) charging station in Alexandria – an improvement over the slow charger already located in town at the Caisse Populaire. A new, fast charger would take between 20 and 30 minutes to charge an EV as opposed to four hours for the slow charging station.
The municipality has qualified for a $90,000 grant to acquire a charger and to improve the lot where it will be placed.
The charger will likely be in the municipal parking lot beside Gaetan’s Chip Stand on Main Street. The placement has yet to be decided by a designer who will draw up the plan but it’s supposed to be accessible from both sides, so it would probably be behind the chip stand.
The EV charger alone costs $50,000, but since the grant is $90,000 there will be residual funds to improve the parking lot including line painting, new curbs and a crosswalk for added safety for anyone wanting to visit Island Park while charging their vehicle.
The closest Level 3 EV chargers are in Cornwall and Casselman.
Alexandria meets the specifics required for the grant since the town is located between two main highways, the centrally dedicated parking lot is accessible 24/7 and is close to amenities.
Economic boost
The service would also serve as an economic boost.
An added benefit would be to entice consumers with electric vehicles to come to town, charge their car and do some shopping or have a meal. In addition, the town of Alexandria would display on a map as a charging point, drawing electric vehicle traffic to town.
The EV ChargeON program offers funding for the installation of charging stations in rural communities. The initiative is to increase the number of charging stations, build connectivity throughout the province and encourage a greater number of drivers to switch to electric cars.
Councillor At Large Jacques Massie expressed his disappointment that Township staff did not present the potential revenue stream for the new charging station. Next steps will include staff illustrating possible scenarios to assist Council in setting the final rate for charging an electric vehicle.
