Two new 180-kilowatt chargers are available to the owners of electric vehicles in Lake Cowichan.
The new community resource is located at the Lake Cowichan town office (39 South Shore Rd.) and can add 180 kilometres of driving to an average electric vehicle in about 10 minutes, according to BC Hydro.
The town office location includes a curbless design and lower displays on the new chargers for better accessibility.
“The Town of Lake Cowichan is proud to announce our collaboration with BC Hydro to provide a fast charging EV station to residents and visitors of Lake Cowichan and surrounding areas,” said Lake Cowichan Mayor Tim McGonigle. “The charging station will increase capacity to encourage and support the shift to more electric vehicles in our community.”
The faster chargers offer dual charging or power sharing, which allows two customers to use the same charger. For example, a 180-kilowatt charger can adjust to provide two 90-kilowatt charging ports, which allows more drivers to access public charging stations at the same time.
“Having recently bought an electric vehicle I know how important it is — especially for those of us living in more remote and rural areas — to know there are charging stations we can rely upon for a fast charge along the way,” said Josie Osborne, minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation. “This new fast charging site in Lake Cowichan is another step in our work with BC Hydro and other partners to expand our public charging network so more people, no matter where they are in B.C., can make the switch to an electric vehicle and start saving money on gas and lowering their carbon emissions.”
More people are driving electric vehicles than ever before. There are now more than 170,000 EVs on the road in B.C., and BC Hydro predicts there will be between 700,000 and 900,000 EVs within the next 10 years.
“British Columbians are embracing electric vehicles faster than any other jurisdiction in Canada and that’s why we are continuing to make investments for growth within our current system and building out our fast charging network across B.C.,” says Chris O’Riley, president and CEO of BC Hydro. “These new chargers are part of our expansion plan to achieve geographic connectivity of our EV fast charging network, with a station located at least every 150 kilometres throughout B.C.”
The Lake Cowichan charging stations make up part of a 306-unit network through 117 sites across the province, in part funded in a partnership with the Province of B.C. and Natural Resources Canada.
“These new charging stations will help British Columbians get to where they need to go more quickly and reliably, all while using clean energy,” said George Heyman, minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. “More electric chargers bring both environmental and economic benefits as we work towards lowering our climate-changing emissions 40 per cent by 2030.”
