Fredericton spending $250K on electric vehicle chargers, but not all councillors on board

Fredericton city councillors have agreed to spend $250,000 for the city to install 10 charging stations across five locations in an effort to boost the uptake in electric vehicle use.

But not all councillors were on board with the decision, raising concerns about the cost and whether there was enough of a business case behind the investment.

"I think down the road, we'll probably be able to get a better deal," said Coun. Steven Hicks during Tuesday evening's regular council meeting.

"I just don't think at this time it would be smart to invest this kind of money."

Councillors ultimately voted eight to four in favour of the move by the city, which includes an application to recoup some of the installation cost through N.B. Power's Plug-In N.B. Charging Rebates for Business program.

According to a staff report, the cost to install the 10 chargers totals $300,000, however the rebate would see N.B. Power covering $50,000 of that.

Locations chosen include Willie O'Ree Place, Grant-Harvey Centre, the East End parking garage near the corner of King and Regent streets, Frederick Square parking garage and York Carpark behind city hall.

The stations will use Level 2 chargers, which typically take anywhere between six and eight hours to bring a vehicle to full charge, although that varies depending on the vehicle, said Sean Lee, assistant director of engineering and operations for the city. 

Users will be charged $1.50 per hour to use the chargers, with the city to receive about 70 per cent of that revenue, while N.B. Power keeps the rest.

An annual subscription can also be purchased for $150.

Lee said the plan is to have the charging stations installed sometime during the 2023 construction season.

No clear return on investment

Much of the cost involved in installing the charging stations comes from having to add or rearrange wiring within municipal buildings in order to accommodate the chargers, said Lee.

He said with that initial work, additional charging ports could be installed at each station for a much lower cost of about $10,000 each.

But whether there's any goal or timeline around seeing the investment paid off from user fees is unclear.

"It's not so much a payback scenario, but it's a long-term installation for future use," said Lee, when asked about whether the stations would pay for themselves.

Lee said the city opted for the slower Level 2 chargers, instead of the faster Level 3 chargers, as there's about a $100,000 difference in cost for the electrical components required.

He added that the charging locations were specifically chosen as they're in areas where people can leave their vehicle for an extended period of time while being able to do other things.

1,932 electric vehicle owners in N.B.

Dozens of charging stations have been set up across New Brunswick in recent years, however electric vehicle purchases in the province have lagged.

The province set a target to have 2,500 electric vehicles on the road by 2021, but only came within about a quarter of reaching that goal.

N.B. Power spokesperson Marc Belliveau said in an email there are now 1,932 electric vehicle owners in the province.

He said Fredericton's application for a charging station rebate is one of the only to have been made by a municipality, with more than 60 other applications made by various other entities.

He said N.B. Power has so far given out $820,000 in rebates under that program, which is supported by a federal climate change fund.

'A good start'

Fredericton Coun. Margo Sheppard said the city should have first adopted a broader vehicle charging strategy before going forward, but thinks the new charging stations will be a good addition.

"Ultimately, these chargers will be everywhere, and I think it's a good start," she said.

According to N.B. Power's eCharge network site, about 10 stations already exist in Fredericton, with most of them being Level 2 chargers.

Similar to Fredericton's move, Saint John Energy added eight of its own Level 2 electric vehicle charging stations in March in anticipation of increased demand.

Coun. Ruth Breen said the charging stations are a good investment, even without a rebate.

"I think as a responsible municipal government we need to do this," Breen said. "It's the responsible thing for a government that's moving forward with real real climate change efforts and whether we have a rebate or not, we need to do it."