City getting charged up about Electric Vehicles
By Lethbridge Herald on June 30, 2023.
An official demonstrates how to charge an electrical vehicle Friday morning at the Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens parking lot.
Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-GuzmanAlejandra Pulido-Guzman – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – apulido@lethbridgeherald.com
The City of Lethbridge has opened multiple Electric Vehicles (EV) charging stations at four strategic locations across the city to accommodate the increase of electricity-propelled vehicles within the city.
The City of Lethbridge recently installed 22 new EV charging stations and they are now open to the public for use.
Project Manager for Waste and Environment, Stewart Purkis said they placed the stations in locations where people could have something to do while waiting for their cars to charge.
“Here at the Japanese Gardens, we’ve installed two Flo DC fast chargers for residents and visitors to be able to take on significant charge in a short period of time… Whether you’re a visitor or citizen, why not get a charge while out of taking a walk in the park? That was kind of my motto of choosing these sites,” said Purkis.
The parking lot at Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens, at the corner of Mayor Magrath Drive and 9 Avenue South, now features two 100 kW capacity FLO DC fast chargers. These two chargers represent the fastest charging capability for EV drivers south of Calgary.
“Most cars in the market today would be finished charging, if it was empty to full, within an hour,” said Purkis.
There are also 10 Level 2 FLO chargers offering 6.2 kW delivery at Lethbridge Regional Park ‘n’ Ride Transit Terminal level 3, including two accessible stalls, six at the Enmax Centre parking lot, and four at City Hall parking area.
“There a battery electric vehicle would take roughly the workday to go from empty to full,” said Purkis.
At the Cavendish Farms Centre on the west side, there are four Level 2 charging stations, which were installed at the facility during original construction.
“As we transition to battery electric vehicles, and today the mandate is that by 2035 all new vehicles will be battery-only, this type of infrastructure will be required to keep people on the move,” said Purkis.
The FLO EV chargers will be on the FLO network, which is accessed via an easy-to-use iOS and Android application and allows driver to find chargers, initiate a charging session and pay for your charging.
FLO is a Canadian-based Electric Vehicle (EV) charging network operator and a smart charging solutions provider.
Purkis said the charging stations will not cause a significant strain to the electrical grid, as the Level 2 stations use the same amount of electricity as a clothes dryer.
He said making sure the electrical grid doesn’t suffer, it becomes a matter of putting thought into when to charge your EV to avoid using electric at peak hours.
“Don’t charge your car between 4 p.m. and 7p.m. because that’s when everybody’s coming home and getting on with laundry, cooking supper, turning everything on including their air conditioner. Your car can charge overnight and the grid will have no issue with charging overnight,” said Purkis.
Mayor Blaine Hyggen said the City took the necessary steps to keep up with the demand as they have seen the increase in EV across Lethbridge and they needed to make sure EV users had what they need to keep their cars moving.
“It just really shows the sustainability of how we’re moving through our community and trying to tailor to those that do have EV vehicles as well so it’s important to have them throughout the community and we’re excited that there’s grants for this and that more will be announced in August on that, so it’s pretty exciting news for Lethbridge for sure,” said Hyggen.
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20-19
The Lethbridge taxpayer should not be paying for this. They have never made any provision for petrol fueled vehicles. It favors a very small percentage of the population, unfairly. Why not spend the funds fixing the horrible condition of our streets??
I can only assume that someone in City Hall has just acquired an EV.
I don’t believe the charging stations offer free charging, so theoretically the initial costs should be recouped and they should make the city money. Again, theoretically. If income from something like is generated, maybe taxes go down? Again, theoretically. I’m not holding my breath tho.
Most will possibly be purchased in city credit cards.