Editor:
There are not enough of level 3 electric vehicle chargers available in Kamloops. We have one, a public BC Hydro charger, for a city of 100,000 people.
Vernon has approximately half the population of Kamloops, yet that city has a trio of level 3 chargers — a BC Hydro charger and two Fortis chargers.
I’m fully aware there are several other public electric vehicle chargers in Kamloops, but they are level 2, which in real life means a person would have to leave their vehicle plugged in for at least eight hours, which is not realistic.
I’m also fully aware there are literally banks of Tesla electric vehicle chargers in several different parts of Kamloops, but not everyone can afford to buy a Tesla — and Tesla chargers don’t allow access to other brands of electric vehicles. Unlike in Europe, the federal government has not mandated that Tesla chargers accommodate other brands of electric vehicles.
There are a few other private level 3 chargers in Kamloops, such as the ones at Canadian Tire, but at a considerably higher cost per kilowatt.
If the City of Kamloops is actually serious about encouraging drivers to switch to all-electric vehicles, I sure don’t see any move to make it happen.
There’s still no requirement in place to include one or two electric vehicle chargers in building permits for high-density development. There would be no need to put in one charger for each vehicle, as one or two for each 15 units would work just fine. After all, a level 3 charger takes only about 45 minutes per vehicle.
I not only care about climate change, but I also know that electric vehicles have other low carbon footprint benefits. There’s virtually no maintenance costs, no oil changes are required and the vehicles are totally fun to drive.
Heide Neighbor
Kamloops
