New electric vehicle chargers coming to King

By Mark Pavilons
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative

King Township will be getting a boost from the federal government, to install electric vehicle chargers across the municipality.
Along with funding from the municipality, this will allow for the installation of between 10 and 12 electric vehicle charging stations, amounting to over 20 charging connectors.
Federal funding is provided through Natural Resources Canada's Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program, which is supporting the government's ambitious target to have all new passenger vehicles sold in Canada be zero-emission vehicles by 2040.
The Township of King also provided funding, bringing the total cost of the project to over $536,000.
“The funding from NRCan will help us continue to build on King Township's green legacy. We know EVs are the future of personal transportation. That's why we've started to put the infrastructure in place now that will give our residents convenient access to charging stations,” said King Mayor Steve Pellegrini.
King Township currently has three electric vehicle charging stations at the Municipal Centre at 2585 King Road in King City which are compatible with most current EV models.
The new chargers will be a combination of Level 3 fast chargers and Level 2 chargers that will be able to charge most electric vehicle models. The new stations will also generate data on usage and EV uptake in specific locations to better understand how to plan for growth. The plan is to place them at municipal facilities in King City, Nobleton and Schomberg.
The installation of the charging stations is planned for this year.
“This improved network is just the latest action we're taking on improving our community's overall sustainability,” said Mayor Pellegrini.
King is also drafting a Climate Action Plan with hopes to be implemented in Q1 2021. It's a community-wide plan to best mitigate, adapt and improve resilience to the effects and impacts of climate change on a local level both in the near and far term. This plan aims to provide a framework of future priorities, actions, studies and pilots.
For more information on the plan, watch two recent webinars and provide feedback please visit https://speaking.king.ca/climate-action-plan.
The government has invested over $600 million to make EVs more affordable and charging infrastructure readily available. This includes creating a coast-to-coast network of fast chargers and charging in more localized areas where Canadians live, work and play. This infrastructure will ensure that Canadians can drive and charge their vehicles across Canada. It will support the demonstration of next-generation charging technologies as well as the development of enabling codes and standards. The government is providing incentives of up to $5,000 for Canadian consumers to buy EVs to increase affordability and full tax write-offs for businesses purchasing them.
“Investments in green infrastructure are bringing us closer to a zero-emission future by helping Ontarians make greener choices, improving air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said King-Vaughan MP Deb Schulte.
“Canadians want greener options to get to where they need to go. We're giving these to them. This is how we get to net zero by 2050,” stated O'Regan Jr.