B.C. puts up $30M toward 500 new EV fast-charging stations

The British Columbia government is spending $30 million to incentivize the addition of 500 public electric vehicle(EV) charging stations to the 5,000 that already exist in the province.

Rural, northern and First Nation communities have been made a priority in order to fill in geographical gaps where charging is limited, along with urban areas with high EV usage.

Successful applicants can receive up to 50 per cent of the cost of equipment and installation, and a maximum of $80,000 per fast-charging station. Larger rebates of up to 90 per cent of project costs to a maximum of $130,000 per station are available for Indigenous-owned fast-charging stations.

Josie Osborne, B.C.'s minister of energy, mines and low carbon innovation, said the province is setting the standard for the rest of the country when it comes to supporting EVs.

"We're helping to reduce range anxiety by prioritizing these new stations," said Osborne. "We will prioritize applications for locations that are highly publicly accessible, places where people gather, like community and recreation centres, libraries, highway rest stops and park-and-ride stations."

B.C. has the highest rate of EV adoption in the country. In 2023, approximately 23 per cent of light-duty vehicle sales were EVs, up from 18 per cent in 2022.