Nipawin pulls plug on EV charging stations after public pushback

By Susan McNeil

The Town of Nipawin has cancelled a plan to put three EV charging stations around town following resistance from community members.

Council voted to cancel the stations several weeks ago; they would have cost the municipality $40,000.

“An extenuating amount of public opposition was received. Again, the Town of Nipawin is committed to the governance in the interest of its electorate and this was the majority feedback that was received, hence, the decision was made to not proceed at this time,” Joel Cardinal, the town’s chief administrative officer, said in a statement sent to northeastNOW.

The town said it gets less than one inquiry a month about EV stations but, as a recent tourist who visited Elk Ridge Resort in Waskesiu said, not having them is short-sighted.

“Charging stations that are within the geographic area are typically not meant for the people that live in that area. It’s meant for the people that travel either to that area or through that area,” said Naval Madiratta, who is from Regina.

He and his wife each own a Tesla Model 3.

When they travelled to Elk Ridge, they charged their vehicle in Prince Albert but then found no station at the resort. In the end, they resorted to unplugging the oven and using that outlet.

“I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding about electric vehicles, particularly in Saskatchewan,” said Madiratta. “People talk about range and cold-weather range and yes, it is reduced in electric vehicles. Similarly, it’s also reduced in gasoline vehicles. I think EVs do take a bigger hit as opposed to the gasoline ones.”

But the reduced range is made up by the significant cost savings, he said.

It costs about $12 to charge the car to full, which he can do on a Level 2 charger at his home. Thanks to solar panels on his roof, he doesn’t even pay for the power.

“When you look up and you see the price of fuel and you know you’re charging your car at home and you’re paying 12 bucks for a charge versus like $100 or $150 at the pump, it’s a nice saving,” he said.

Madiratta added that electric vehicles also handle much better and have more power.

“The acceleration, the performance (are) much, much, much better. (It has) better traction (and) better handling in the winter. Electric motors are a lot more precise than gasoline,” he said.

When it comes to attracting visitors, Madiratta said EV drivers plan their trips around being able to charge and use apps like Plug Share to find out where charging stations are.

There is one Level 2 charging station in Nipawin that is not on the map. Nipawin Chrysler Dodge has a station for public use that is free but only available when the gates are open.

The company said that generally, it sees use on Saturdays when people are more likely to be travelling.

A key for Madiratta is having a Level 3 charger available as the charging time is reduced to 20 minutes from about seven hours for a Level 2.

Some vehicle dealerships have charging stations for public use, but they are generally Level 2.

In addition to disappointment in decisions like that made in Nipawin, Madiratta said the province as a whole needs to do some catching up.

“Number one, we shouldn’t be the only province in the country that has a specific tax for electric vehicles,” he said.

The province introduced a $150 annual charge for owners of electric vehicles in 2021, which it said is to make sure EV users pay their share of road maintenance costs.

He would like to see infrastructure development in all parts of the province that includes Level 3 charging stations.

Communities like Nipawin which count tourism as an economic driver will benefit.

“I know Nipawin is close to Tobin Lake and I know that is a popular fishing destination, and so even now, we’re seeing electric vehicles that are pulling boats (and) pulling trailers,” Madiratta said.

“Even if the local population isn’t necessarily driving electric vehicles for whatever reason, I think it is important to have it in place just so that you can encourage more people to travel and take their long weekends and to camp and to spend time in those areas.”

While Nipawin will not get the $30,000 in grant money for the stations it just cancelled, it can try again in the future, said Cardinal.

According to the document presented to council on May 23, Eco-West suggests that if the town does proceed at some point, it could approach it as a partnership with a private business.

The town could operate the chargers for three years, paying the cost and keeping the profits. Once that was done, the charger could be turned over to the private business which could lease the location from the town or move it to a different spot.

Net municipal operating costs would be about $5,000 over three years.