Simcoe County is looking to plug into Ontario’s electrical vehicles charging program.
County staff applied for some of the $20-million in grants as Ontario works to create a network of fast-charging stations in cities and along highways.
The county is asking for funding for three chargers to be installed at each of five locations: the county administration centre on Hwy. 26, the Simcoe County Museum, Orr Lake roads garage, Washago public parking lot (just off of Hwy. 11) and the Clearview joint emergency centre.
“The cost of electricity and maintaining the area and the (vehicle-charging) unit, you can amortize that over the expected amount of traffic, so you can levy a (financial) charge,” said Trevor Wilcox, the county’s corporate performance general manager.
He noted the chargers he’s seen accept credit card payment for a set amount of charging time.
“Generally speaking, the idea is these batteries can be quickly charged in 30 minutes to 75 per cent capacity.”
In determining where the charges should go, the county considered Ontario’s grant selection criteria, including linkages to highways 11, 12, 26, 69 and 400, highly visible and publicly accessible and located within a kilometre of a major intersection.
County council is hoping to hear word on its application next month.
