Sun Peaks EV chargers ready for use

Two type-two EV charging stations have been installed on the east side of the Sun Peaks Centre skating rink.

According to Shane Bourke, Sun Peaks’ Mountain Resort Municipality’s (SPMRM) chief administrative officer, the ChargePoint chargers will have the most significant impact on non-residents. 

Bourke said the municipality started considering installing charging stations because visitors to Sun Peaks suggested they would like a public access point to charge their EVs.

“Residents that own electric vehicles most likely have a similar charging unit in their residence,” Bourke said, although that doesn’t mean they won’t be able to take advantage of the public stations.

The municipality partnered with the Community Energy Association to receive federal grant funding for the project, meaning the stations come at zero cost to residents.

Bourke said people who use the chargers will pay $1 per hour for the first four hours; the fee offsets the cost of electricity use for the municipality. Then, for every additional hour, users pay another $1.

“[The additional dollar an hour] is because we do have only two limited charging stations,” Bourke told SPIN. “We see them as sort of a top-up point for those that came up the mountain and want to ensure that they’re available for use.”

EV charger installation has been in progress since 2015, and Bourke said the municipality had to decide in the fall if they wanted to install ports with 30 amp breakers, which charge EVs at a lower speed or install higher-speed equipment that was harder to find. The municipality went with the 30 amp breakers.

Bourke said there is a national shortage of 40 amp breakers, and the community will see these installed in the spring.

Until then, visitors and residents alike can make use of the two existing Sun Peaks EV chargers.