Ontario plans to offer a discounted electricity rate to providers of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations where demand is “just beginning to emerge.” The lower rate will make charging infrastructure more affordable and encourage more drivers to switch to electric vehicles, Ontario’s Ministry of Energy said in a declaration.
Currently, public EV charging stations in areas with low EV adoption rates face significant operating costs, the ministry said. These stations experience sporadic spikes in demand when charging an EV, but still incur charges during low-use periods throughout the day. The expenses discourage operators from building, and those who do operate at a loss. This creates accessibility problems, the statement reads. Electric car charging stations that are expected to be used infrequently are not built or lose money when they are built, contributing to concerns about the accessibility of charging facilities, the statement said.
“With more than 150,000 electric vehicles already on Ontario roads, we continue to look for new ways to increase the number of public chargers,” Todd Smith, Ontario’s energy minister, said in the statement. “This is another step we are taking to give drivers in all parts of our province, including rural Ontario, the confidence to transition to electric vehicles and take advantage of our growing, world-class clean network.”
Starting this month, the Ontario Energy Board will begin public consultations on the proposed new rate. If approved, the discounted rate will be available for public EV charging stations with low usage, ranging from 50 kW to 4,999 kW. Local distribution companies are expected to begin offering this rate to public EV charging providers in early 2026.
Devin Arthur, director of government relations for Electric Vehicle Society, an electric vehicle advocacy organization, said installing charging stations is expensive, especially in rural areas where they are not used frequently. Charging operators and site hosts currently pay electricity demand charges if they exceed a certain usage threshold, for example more than 50 kW. A single EV charging session could push a location over this threshold, costing the operator hundreds or even thousands of dollars, she added.
Arthur, who is an EV driver from Sudbury, highlighted the crucial role of charging infrastructure in driving EV adoption.
“Having adequate charging infrastructure has been shown to be one of the key pillars in electric vehicle adoption and is in a bit of a ‘chicken and egg’ scenario, especially in these rural and underutilized areas of the province “Arthur said. “But having that infrastructure is extremely important to improving consumer confidence in the technology and will definitely encourage more consumers to purchase an electric vehicle.”
BC Hydro is also adopting energy-based pricing for public electric vehicle chargers. Drivers pay for the energy consumed rather than the time they spend plugged in.
Starting this month, the Ontario Energy Board will begin public consultations on the proposed new rate. If approved, the discounted rate will be available for public EV charging stations with low usage, ranging from 50 kW to 4,999 kW. #EVCharge
According to the Ontario Ministry of Energy, as of March 2024, there are more than 150,000 electric vehicles registered in Ontario, including battery electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). By 2030, more than one million electric vehicles are expected to be on Ontario roads.
As of September 2023, Ontario had more than 2,900 public charging stations with 7,900 ports, including 6,600 Level 2 ports and 1,300 Level 3 fast charging ports.