Northern Bruce Peninsula council is deferring a decision to approve a contract for new electric vehicle charging stations in Tobermory.
During a council meeting on March 28, a report was brought forward by CAO Peggy Van Merle-West to approve the contract between Charger Quest Inc. and the municipality.
In 2021, staff were approached by Charger Quest to install six level three charger stations at the Tobermory Community Centre parking lot. This was one of the areas identified as a potential spot through the Regional Electric Vehicle Charging Station Network Strategy study.
Mayor Milt McIver says a couple of councillors had concerns regarding the placement of the stations and have asked staff to come back with what the visuals would look like and look at potential alternate locations as well.
“It’s not the fact that we are opposed to them, we are just trying to get the right location for them,” says McIver.
The report says in an effort to reduce harmful greenhouse gasses from vehicle emissions, municipalities are promoting the expansion of electric vehicles and stations to charge them.
The County of Wellington is coordinating a grant from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (D.C.) to prepare a Regional Electric Vehicle Charging Station Network Strategy study, geared to bridge the gap of charging infrastructure between Highway 401 and Lake Huron and Georgian Bay to the Bruce Peninsula.
Bruce County, Wellington County, Perth County, Dufferin County, Huron County, Grey County, City of Guelph, City of Stratford, and the Town of St. Marys are participating in this study.
The report says the plan will use a tourism lens to determine sites for potential stations that would promote rural tourism and reduce range anxiety felt by electric vehicle owners on long trips.
There will be no cost to the municipality to install these stations and they will be compensated by Charger Quest Inc. of 10 per cent of the net charges.
The company has also confirmed once these stations are installed in Tobermory, they will be looking at potential sites in Lion’s Head.
McIver says the generated station revenue of $10,000 – $15,000 will go to the municipality. Based on the popularity of electric vehicles, this revenue is suspected to increase.
McIver says staff will be bringing back a report with additional information at their next council meeting on April 25.
