Town council votes to remove convenient community perk for debatable reason: 'I would like to see them gone'

A Canadian town council made a head-scratching decision to rid the area of a convenient option for electric vehicle owners.

What's happening?

As explained by High River Online last month, the High River, Alberta, town council unanimously voted to remove Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEV) chargers from the downtown area because they "were found to have not been meeting their original purpose." The town reportedly had hoped the free-access chargers would attract outside residents to downtown to help boost the local economy.

"These chargers were primarily an economic development tool to encourage people to visit our community and our downtown," Municipal Services Director Reiley McKerracher said at last month's meeting. "The chargers have not fulfilled their original intent of being primarily used by local users and have a cost of upwards of $7,000 per year in electrical costs alone, plus any maintenance we may have on top of that."

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McKerracher added that one of the PEV chargers had already broken down and had to be replaced. The town will now remove all the chargers and signage before deactivating the power meter.

Why is this important?

The removal of the PEV chargers marks an end to one of High River's green initiatives, which are necessary to fight climate change. Similarly, State Farm began removing its charging stations at hubs across the United States due to claims of fire risks, marking a significant step back in charging infrastructure within the country.

To make matters worse, the explanation for why the High River town council made its decision was hardly satisfactory, as it's clear that the town is no longer willing to power electric vehicles for free.

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"I would rather put this to private business than us running a business of charging stations. Right now we have been just giving it away for free," council member Michael Nychyk explained. "I haven't been in favor of this, giving away free fuel to people, since its inception. I am voting in terms of pulling them out and if someone privately as a business wants to come and utilize that spot and pay us a lease for that space and run a charger from it, then I would consider supporting that in the future. But right now I would like to see them gone."

What's being done about this?

High River Online noted that before deciding to remove the chargers completely, the town council initially explored alternatives such as "implementing a timed parking limit, installing pay chargers, implementing pay parking, and charger attrition." Revisiting these ideas could help push for the charging stations to return, but it appears that the town is hoping to secure a private company to run the chargers.

If you're considering making your next car an EV, don't be discouraged. There are efforts to improve charging infrastructure as well as range capabilities, which should relieve any concerns. By switching to an EV, you would be contributing to a cleaner future.