EV plug-in rules spark frustration for Vancouver condo strata

The strata councilat a South Vancouver condo complex is pushing for improved rules that would allowelectric vehicle users to be billed for electricityused at the building's community EV charging stationinstead of forcing users to pay for the amount of time the vehicle is plugged in.

The issue of requiring payment from EV charging station users is complex because thecharging capacity varies between vehicle makes and models,butfederal government rules restrict the way people can be billed.

BC Hydro predicts there will be at least 300,000 fully electric vehicles on the roads by 2030, bringing into question whether infrastructure will meet charging needs and how much it will cost.

Brian Bradley, strata council presidentat Shoreline, wants a recently installed EV charging station to be able to bill people according to how much electricity they use, butcurrent rules mean EV users can only be charged for time spent plugged in.

"You would never go to a gas station and pay based on the time you spent at the gas station. That's just absurd. You pay for the amount of gas that you pump into your vehicle and electricity is no different," said Bradley.

He said Measurement Canada which falls under the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development has not certified the charging station to bill in that manner even thoughthe technology has been around for several years and is used in the United States.

"Billing by time is both inaccurate and unfair because different electric vehicles charge at different rates, so you can have two vehicles charge for the same amount of time and get completely different amounts of energy."

Slow change for new technology

Measurement Canada said in a statement that the agency is closely following how the technology is being used and is looking at possible changes.

"The agency is participating in an international working group developing requirements for when EV charging stations begin to charge on the basis ofmeasurement, and monitoring similar work in other jurisdictions such as in the U.S."

Neil MacEachern, the program manager for sustainable transportation with the Fraser Basin Council,said time-based billing is inaccurate and charging stations not certified by Measurement Canada can also be problematic.

He explained the discrepanciesbetweennon-certified devicesand Measurement Canada certified charging stations are nominal and not a deal-breaker for people who want to purchase electric vehicles.

"In the grand scheme, because they're saving $150a month on gasoline, they're not going to worry about the $3 of electricity that they might be overcharged for."

Still, he said for condo stratas that want to install EV charging stations, there are not many ways around the issue yet.