North Frontenac takes possession of two fast EV chargers

Jeff Green | Dec 11, 2024

North Frontenac Councillor John Inglis has been an advocate for Electric Vehicles (EV) for years, and has had mixed success convincing his fellow council members that rural municipalities can play a role in supporting their use. 

Last fall after learning at a conference about some granting programs that municipalities could access, he came to Council with a proposal to apply for the grants and to consider purchasing an EV for township use once a competitive market is in place. 

His fellow councillors rejected the idea of purchasing an EV, but approved the grant application.

Brooke Ross, Manager for Community Development in North Frontenac, proceeded to apply for the provincial ChargeON grant of $225,000 and the federal  Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP) for $67,636. The applications required the township to commit to pay 10% of the total cost of the project, $28,000, if both grants came through.

The applications were submitted in late November, 2023, and within a relatively short time, the ZEVIP grant was approved.

But months passed and there was no word on the ChargeON application.

“With all the talk of an election, we thought maybe the program was not progressing,” said Inglis. 

But in mid November, one year after receiving the application, word came from Toronto that the $225,000 ChargeON grant had been approved.

“Now we have a deadline,” said Brooke Ross. “The chargers need to be in operation by May 1.”

Purchasing the chargers, which are 100 kw units, and are produced by FLO of Montreal, is the easiest part of the process. They have already arrived at the township. But the wiring job to get them up and running, complete with a meter and pay system, needs to take place before March 1, 2025, to maintain eligibility for the grants.

The township has entered into a sole sourced contract with Envari, the company they consulted when preparing the application, in order to meet the deadline.

When installed, North Frontenac will be one of the few locations in Eastern Ontario with a Level 3 charging service, capable of fully charging an EV in a 36-minute timeframe.

“I believe the nearest charger is in Perth,” said Brooke Ross.

“The Perth charger is a Tesla only charger,” said John Inglis, “who owns a non-Tesla EV. The nearest charger for other EVs is in Kingston. The hope is that being first off the mark with this service, we are making North Frontenac a more attractive destination for tourists who drive electric vehicles.”