Barrie is part of a network of publicly available ultra-fast electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.
Electrify Canada continued its steady pace of growth throughout 2020 by opening eight new stations in Ontario and expanding into the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec.
The company now offers 18 charging stations with 72 individual fast chargers across four provinces — including Canadian Tire, at 75 Mapleview Dr. W., in south-Barrie.
During the last few months alone, Electrify Canada opened new stations in Barrie, Hamilton, Kingston, Ottawa and Sarnia. Each station is equipped with four individual chargers that offer the fastest EV charging available today, Electrify Canada says, at speeds of up to 150 kW and 350 kW for capable vehicles.
Barrie’s Electrify Canada station is in addition to what’s already available here.
The city made arrangements with Tesla Canada to install 54 electric vehicle charge stations at various locations around downtown Barrie, at no cost to residents. The city owns and operates the chargers.
Coun. Sergio Morales has long championed EV and the infrastructure needed to make them convenient.
“A charging station network will ignite the uptake of sustainable cars and inject the local economy with monies from visitors who purposely choose our city as their lunch or dinner spot because of this infrastructure network,” he says on his Ward 9 website.
Tesla worked with the city to install both Tesla-branded charge stations that are only compatible with Tesla products and universal stations that are compatible with all makes of plug-in electric vehicles.
The Tesla partnership has resulted in 24 EV charging stations at Collier Street Parkade (16 Tesla only, eight universal), six at Barrie Public Library’s downtown branch (four Tesla only, two universals), and 12 stations at both Heritage Park and Barrie Marina (eight Tesla only, four universal at each location).
“The city of Barrie now has the most EV charging stations per capita in Canada as of Q1 (the first quarter of) 2019,” Morales said at the time.
The Canada Energy Regulator, an arm of the federal government, tracks the registration of zero emission vehicles (ZEV) - battery electric and plug-in hybrids.
In 2019, the ZEV share of new vehicle registrations in Canada was 2.7 per cent, and there were about 50,000 ZEV registered here.
In the first six months of 2020, the ZEV share of new vehicle registrations grew to 3.5 per cent.
Electrify Canada says it locates each of its charging stations where the experience is accessible, convenient and fast. Most of the stations are on or nearby a major route or highway, and within reach of amenities like shopping, dining and restrooms. The Ontario stations have charging points along major routes between Ottawa and Niagara to allow EV drivers to better travel the province.
“While travel is not an option for most right now, our charging stations remain open as essential services for those needing to travel for work, school or other government-sanctioned reasons,” said Anthony Lambkin of Electrify Canada.
Starting last October, Electrify Canada began installing overhead canopies at a number of its locations. They are to cover the entire network; the canopies provide protection from Canada’s unpredictable elements and also offer additional lighting for better visibility while charging at night.
Electrify Canada also rolled out a simplified pricing plan in October, providing customers with competitive rates for two power levels, from 1-90kW and 1-350kW, and eliminating session fees. The Electrifty Canada mobile app also allows users to locate a station, initiate, monitor and pay for a charging session, all remotely.
For more information, visit www.electrify-canada.ca.
