“Is this fixed?” “Looking for an update.” “Is there any update?”
Scroll through the comments on PlugShare, which maps electric vehicle charging stations, and you’ll see the Fort Providence one is in demand.
But it’s also broken.
In September last year, Fort Providence’s charging station – at the Big River gas station on Highway 3 – was hailed by the NWT government as part of the territory’s first “charging corridor,” stretching from Yellowknife to Alberta.
“With seven government-funded charging locations now online, EV drivers can travel confidently from Yellowknife, Hay River, or Fort Smith to Alberta,” the territorial government stated at the time, calling the chargers part of a “cleaner, more sustainable transportation network for the territory.”
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Fort Providence, 300 km southwest of Yellowknife, is a natural fit for a charging station. It’s where many users of gasoline-powered vehicles stop to refuel if travelling between Yellowknife and the south, and the small community represents an obvious stopping-off point for EVs making the same trip.
However, the Fort Providence charging station has been beset by problems in recent months, complicating travel for people who hoped to rely on it.
In October, January, February, March and April, PlugShare users have either reported trouble using the charging station or requested updates.
Jule, the EV fast charger company that operates the charging station, has repeatedly promised it is working on a fix.
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“The station is still down due to a critical parts shortage. Our on site service members have attempted to work around this issue multiple times but we are unfortunately at the mercy of supply chain disruptions,” Jule told one driver in January.
Two months later, in March, Jule told another driver: “Our technicians are currently working on the site, but due to the complexity of the issue we don’t have a confirmed timeline for the repair yet.”
In April, the company added: “Our engineers will be onsite in the coming weeks.”
Jule didn’t respond to our request for more information about the issue, but Naka Power Utilities – which installed the charging station – replied with a breakdown of what’s causing the problem and what drivers should expect.
In a statement, Naka Power manager Vic Barr said Jule technicians who visited the charging station in early March “identified the need to replace several internal modules.”
“While some communication and connectivity issues were resolved at that time, full repair requires new hardware,” Naka Power stated.
“The vendor is scheduled to return in mid‑April to install and commission the replacement equipment and anticipates that these repairs will restore the charging station to normal operation.”
Why some modules needed replacement relatively soon after installation wasn’t specified.
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Jule has told drivers it will update the station’s PlugShare listing – which currently states “under repair” – when the chargers are back online.
The territorial government was also approached for comment. The Department of Infrastructure, which has oversight of the charging corridor, said on Tuesday it was working on a response.
Electric vehicle ownership remains a rarity in the NWT but numbers are growing.
Data published by the territorial government shows there were 30 EVs registered in the territory as of 2022, rising to 125 by early 2025. (In all, just over 43,000 vehicles are registered in the NWT.)
That data doesn’t include the small number of additional EVs driven by people coming from other parts of North America to tour the territory.
Several times in the past year, people based elsewhere in Canada or the United States have contacted Cabin Radio for updates on EV charging stations in the NWT before embarking on trips.
