Summerland’s EV Charging Stations See Quadrupled Power Delivery
Summerland motorists are increasingly adopting electric vehicles, according to recently released municipal data. The numbers show a substantial upswing in the use of the community’s electric vehicle (EV) charging stations since 2020, encompassing charging sessions, revenue from fees, and kilowatt-hours delivered.
Odessa Cohen, in a report presented to the Summerland council, highlighted the dramatic increases in charging station activity. In 2020, the stations delivered 12,120.7 kilowatt-hours of power across 1,109 charging sessions, bringing in a mere $19 in charging revenue for the year. Fast forward to 2024, and the power delivered had quadrupled to an impressive 48,093 kilowatt-hours during 2,446 charging sessions. Revenue similarly surged, with the municipality collecting $20,072 in charging fees.
This upward trend is further reflected in the number of unique users. In 2024, 833 individuals utilized the EV charging stations, a considerable increase from the 427 users recorded in 2023.
Summerland currently boasts a network of 25 public EV charging stations situated throughout the community. This network includes 19 Level 2 chargers and six Level 3 units, the latter being fast chargers which have seen particularly high demand.
The charging stations are strategically located in key areas such as the downtown west area, Lowertown, Memorial Park, Municipal Hall, and Turner Street Park. Memorial Park proves to be the most frequented location, followed by the downtown west area.
Summerland’s initial foray into EV infrastructure occurred in late April 2013, when the town installed its first three Level 2 charging stations. Initially, these stations were offered free of charge.
In 2019 and 2020, significant expansion occurred with the addition of 22 more charging stations, thanks to grants from NRCan. This expansion included 16 Level 2 chargers and six Level 3 chargers. According to Cohen, these charging stations, funded by federal, provincial, and municipal governments, have supported the federal goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and Summerland’s own emission reduction targets of 80% by that same year. The EV infrastructure also supports the federal goal of 100% zero-emission passenger vehicle sales by 2040.
