NWT power firm Northland Utilities has opened Yellowknife’s first level three electric vehicle charger.
Level three devices can fully charge an electric car in half an hour. Level two chargers, a step down, take six to eight hours to do the same thing.
The 100-kW charging station – at Northland Utilities’ main office, 481 Range Lake Road – will be open around the clock. Charging a vehicle there will cost $32 per hour.
The company said it is designed to be compatible with a wide range of electric vehicles and comes with contactless payment.
Northland called its unveiling a “significant milestone in reducing emissions from transportation,” adding that the charger’s availability “brings us a step closer to realizing a zero-emission vehicle corridor in the NWT.”
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That corridor is a tall order, though a 22-charger network from Yellowknife to Alberta is on the GNWT’s medium-term plan.
The Range Lake Road charging station was announced last year alongside a twin to be positioned outside the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. Their planned March 2023 opening dates were subsequently pushed back.
The second unit isn’t yet ready because it was damaged during shipping, Northland Utilities’ Jay Massie told Cabin Radio. A date for that charger to come online has not been fixed.
The territorial government initially agreed to provide up to $300,000 toward the chargers, then upped the cap on that grant to $350,000.
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Northland Utilities says the GNWT’s contribution ultimately reached $360,000, with the company expecting to pay $70,000.
“Final costs will not be known until the second EV charging station has been installed,” he said.
Correction: October 5, 2023 – 13:59 MT. Based on information provided by Northland Utilities, this article initially stated the GNWT had contributed $300,000 to the charger project. The company has since corrected the information it provided and now says the GNWT contribution was $360,000.
