最新资讯

New EV charging regulation

Gas stations and commercial lots in Vancouver must have EV chargers by 2025 or pay $10K a year. Vancouver city council requires all gas stations and parking lots with more than 60 stalls to have EV charging onsite. Gas stations must install at least one DC fast charger with a minimum of 50 kilowatts of charging speed, while parking lots will need to install at least four Level 2 chargers, with at least 26.6 kilowatts of power. Vancouver businesses that comply with the new EV charging regulations will pay an annual license fee of $243 for gas stations and $163 for commercial parking lots. If not, they will face an annual license fee of $10,000 starting in 2025.

Why gas stations?

Many city councillors support EV charging at these sites to increase charging accessibility and reduce barriers to EV adoption. However, according a software developer and EV owner Tim Bray, the choice of putting EV chargers in gas stations was questionable. Bray mentioned that people would spend at least 15 minutes charging their EV at gas stations, and EV charging should be accomplished when people are shopping or having meals, instead of just sitting in the vehicle. He suggested that chargers in malls and shopping venues would be a better solution because people tend to spend more time there.

Ian Neville, senior sustainability specialist at the City of Vancouver, responded that gas stations were chosen to provide access of charging in more underserved areas of the city. “I think one of the big pushes around the gas station side of it is they are fairly well spread out across the city. So they are a good way to help us get a more evenly distributed public charging network, which is definitely one of the goals of this is to get more equitable access to charging.”

Mitigate carbon emissions

Apart from accessibility, this EV charging policy is also driven by the city’s commitment to the Climate Emergency Action Plan. Vancouver is committed to cutting its carbon emissions by 50 per cent from 2007 levels by 2030. The city also expects selling 100% electrical vehicles by 2035. Margarita Pacis, a policy analyst for the city of Vancouver, said that increasing license fees serves as a strong incentive for businesses to adopt EV charging stations. The goal of this policy is to change behaviour and encourage charging. It’s not to raise revenue.

*Marine service stations and parking lots with less than 60 stalls will be exempted from this policy.

Interested in installation? We provide free assessments! BOOK HERE now.