Sticker Shock - EV Charging Station To Cost North Frontenac Township

Jeff Green | Sep 04, 2025

“So, everybody is asking the same question,” said Brooke Ross, the Manager of Community Development for North Frontenac, in response to Councilor Roy Huetl asking “Why didn’t we know about this before?”

The ‘this’ in Huetl’s question is an $1,800 a month delivery charge that the township has to pay Hydro One, to operate the EV charging station that the township installed outside of the township office complex on road 506, earlier this year. 

The revenue from local and visitor electric vehicles using the station and paying a user fee for the charge, reached $700 in July, the highest number since the station was installed. With usage charges, the bill for the month of July was $3,000, leaving a net loss of $2,300 to the township for the month. Even a new rebate of 13% that was just announced. Which is worth $400, leaves a $1,900 hit to North Frontenac ratepayers, in July.

To make matters worse, July is likely the highest use month for the station, which is a service that is used mostly by visitors to North Frontenac. The $1,800 delivery charge will be levied 12 months a year.

“We have had a conversation about this with Hydro One,” Ross went to say, “because everyone’s jaw dropped when they heard about this, just as ours have. Unfortunately, this charge was not published information. We tried to research to find where we could have found this out in advance, and it is just not information we have been able to find, so it was a very hidden cost that we were not aware of.”

The charging station was installed after the township successfully applied for a provincial green energy grant which paid 90% of the installation cost. The grant program also encouraged North Frontenac to invest in a larger system than they had projected use for, because the investment was almost the same. The larger system resulted in the large monthly fixed cost, even though only a fraction of that potential is actually being used.

“We are being charged under a commercial plan that is not specific to EV chargers, based on the 1,000 kilowatt system that was installed,” said Ross.

Councilor Huelt was incredulous.

“I don’t get this at all,” he said, “Here we are trying to promote electric vehicles.”

 “And this applies to every EV charger in Ontario,” said Mayor Gerry Lichty. “Don’t forget we are dealing with Hydro One here. I’m not meaning to offend any former employees.

“No offence,” said Councilor Wayne Good, who spent his working career at Hydro One. “I know what Hydro is all about. But what disappoints me, is that a project that I did agree with in the first place, is going to end up costing taxpayers money, so visitors can come charge their vehicles here. It’s not right that we have these. I’d be in favour of taking them out.”

That will not be possible, however. Brooke Ross reminded Council that the provincial EV Charging Station grant contract signed by the township came with a 5 year commitment to keep the station operating.

This leaves the township facing a net loss in the range of $100,000 to $125,000, over that time.

As part of her report, Ross included wording for a resolution outlining the situation to be circulated with other Ontario municipalities in an effort to change the charge that municipalities and businesses face for having invested in EV charging stations.

“I will bring this up when I meet with our MP and MPP later this fall,” said Lichty.

“I think we need to work with AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario) on this. It will need to be someone bigger than us to take this on,” said Huetl.

In the meantime, the billing will continue to roll in to North Frontenac for the delivery charge, month after month.