Interested in electric vehicles but don’t know too much about them? That can change.
Starting later this week, the Community Energy Association (CEA) is taking an electric Ford Mustang Mach-E on the road to give residents of central and northern B.C. an opportunity to ask questions about electric vehicles, hear from local EV drivers, explore an EV, and discover what it feels like to drive electric. The Charge North EV Discovery Tour will help accelerate EV adoption by giving residents a chance to learn about the technology and better understand if an EV will work for them.
Since EVs are becoming more popular in B.C., it can be hard to find one at a dealership. In response, Danielle Wiess, electric mobility expert for CEA and project manager for Charge North, is bringing an EV to local events across central and northern B.C.
Charge North EV Discovery Tour Schedule:
- Barriere – Music in the Park; Friday, August 12, 7 pm – 9 pm
- Sun Peaks – Sun Peaks Resort; Saturday, August 13, 10 am – 4 pm
- Logan Lake – Logan Lake Recreation Centre; Sunday, August 14, 10 am – 4 pm
- Ashcroft – Ashcroft Heritage Park; Monday, August 15, 3 pm – 7 pm
- 100 Mile House – 100 Mile House Visitor Centre; Tuesday, August 16, 9 am – 1 pm
- Quesnel – Alive After 5; Tuesday, August 16, 5 pm – 8 pm
- Prince George – Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park (near Exploration Place); Wednesday, August 17, 4 pm – 8 pm
- Vanderhoof – Vanderhoof Farmers Market; Thursday, August 18, 10 am – 2 pm
- Burns Lake – Burns Lake Farmers Market; Friday, August 19, 10 am – 12 pm
- Houston – Houston Farmers Market; Friday, August 19, 2 pm – 5 pm
- Terrace – Skeena Valley Farmers Market; Saturday, August 20, 9 am – 1 pm
- Smithers – Bugwood Coffee; Sunday, August 21, 10 am – 4 pm
The Charge North EV Discovery Tour is supported by BC Hydro and includes many of the communities that will be getting new public EV charging stations soon as part of a program called Charge North. Starting later in 2022, 58 charging stations in 31 communities – from Masset to Valemount and Fort Nelson to Logan Lake – will be installed as part of Charge North. All of these stations will be “Level 2” stations: they add 30-40 kilometres of range per hour of charging.
Charge North is a community-driven, collaborative program to build an electric vehicle (EV) charging network across central and northern BC. The initiative began in 2018 by several municipalities and all six regional districts in Northern BC. Seeing the opportunity that EVs presented to local residents and businesses, while noting an absence of public charging stations, they came together to find a way to support EV adoption in the region. They realized that collaboration would be key to creating a network that supported travel to and within the region. Charge North is funded by Northern Development Initiatives Trust, the Province of BC, and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
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