First electric vehicle fast charger installed in Hay River

The NWT government says a new electric vehicle fast charging station has opened in Hay River.

The first level-three 100-kW charger in the NWT outside Yellowknife is now available for use, the territory said in a Tuesday news release.

It was installed by NT Energy, which is what the NWT Power Corporation calls its “unregulated sister company.” (Regulators in the territory have ruled that regulated utilities like the power corporation can’t directly own and operate charging stations.)

Cory Strang, president and chief executive officer of the NWT Power Corporation, said installation of the charging station “helps signal to residents and visitors that use of electric vehicles is encouraged and access to charging infrastructure is advancing.”

There are two level-three chargers and two level-two chargers at the Hay River site, which is in front of NTPC’s headquarters in the town.

NTPC said charging costs $33 an hour for the level-three charger or $6 an hour for the slower level-two charger. Billing is in one-minute increments.

“Once the chargers have been operational for two years, the actual consumption, usage and operating costs will be reviewed and rates modified accordingly, if necessary,” NTPC stated in a press release of its own.

At the moment, electricity in Hay River and other South Slave communities is coming from diesel fuel as the Taltson hydro system, which ordinarily powers them, has been offline for refurbishment for more than a year. That should change in early 2025, NTPC has said, when Taltson is expected to return to operation.

The territorial government’s stated aim is to gradually build a corridor of 22 publicly accessible fast chargers along highways in southern areas of the NWT, allowing electric vehicles to cover the long distances between Yellowknife, Hay River, Fort Smith and Alberta without too much delay or difficulty charging.

NT Energy will open charging stations in Fort Smith and Behchokǫ̀ later this fall, NTPC said, and a charging station at Buffalo Junction – along Highway 5 – will open “later this year or early in 2025.”

Funding for that corridor comes from a combination of territorial and federal programs.

Naka Power – formerly Northland Utilities – opened Yellowknife’s first level-three electric vehicle chargers in 2023. The NWT government said Naka Power plans to add chargers in Fort Providence and Enterprise next year.