WESTLOCK—There is one electric vehicle (EV) charger in the Town of Westlock, and a second to be added soon, and a recent move from the Town of Edson might provide some exposure.
Councillors agreed at the June 22 meeting to support an Edson initiative for a Northwest Alberta Electric Vehicle Charging Network that’s intended to get some money funneled into northern communities for EV stations.
"I think there's one major perk, which is that electric charging is not quick,” said deputy mayor Murtaza Jamaly.
“If you happen to come through town and need a charge, you're probably having lunch here or something, spending a few minutes here, which I think is something. Especially on the way north, if you need to stop somewhere, beyond Westlock your next big community is going to be Slave Lake or Athabasca, which is quite a ways away."
He sees EV charging as a possibility for future commercial needs, not just tourist related ones.
“Today, it might be a tourist stop. Tomorrow, it might be a truck stop that requires this and we want to be on that route for sure.”
The town currently has one active Level 2 (240 volts) charging station at the Peavey Mart mall—a full charge on a standard electric vehicle takes an average of three hours, or eight to 12 hours on a Tesla. A second will be installed too—this was part of the contract signed with Enmax for the solar panels at the Spirit Centre.
“I see this as more of an opportunity to be included in any publication or if they decide they’re going to develop an app or something like that,” said CAO Simone Wiley.
“We want to be sure that we’re recognized that we have one.”
The town received a letter May 25 requesting support for this, with a $30,000 price tag—to be shared between participating municipalities—attached to it for a feasibility study and grant applications. The money was raised before the town agreed to sign on, so Westlock’s currently not contributing financially.
“At the end of the day, there isn’t a requirement or a commitment to build these,” Jamaly said.
“This is really about developing a guide as to where they’re located, and being part of a technical committee that advises on where people should go. If you’re going to be on the committee that’s writing the map, that’s, I think, a pretty good thing, considering that this is where the world is headed.”
The regional group will be working toward accessing grant funding for future stations in multiple locations across the northwest, and Wiley says there’s no reason the town can’t add a third station if the costs are minimal.
